Law for Real People - John Gear Law Office & Salem Consumer Law 503-569-7777

Oregon Consumer Justice grants available for groups helping tenants access or apply for rent assistance

9/1/2021

Oregon Consumer Justice (OCJ) is making money available to community-based organizations working to support tenants in accessing rent assistance payments or making applications for rent assistance.

There's more information and a link to the application here: https://lnkd.in/gu7JBAzz

Many organizations, community leaders, and individuals are hard at work trying to help prevent evictions, which are traumatic and have far-reaching impact on people's well-being.

Spread the word about this resource which might help reach community members who don't know there's help available or don't have the ability to access that help.

If you have questions, please direct them to either Janet Byrd at jbyrd@oregonconsumerjustice.org or
Joseluis Maldonado at jlmaldonado@oregonconsumerjustice.org

Are you behind on your rent or utilities? Website directory shows the rent and utility assistance programs you may be eligible for where you live.

8/4/2021

The federal Consumer Protection Financial Bureau (CFPB) has a website where you can see if there is rental assistance money available that you can access in order to help you avoid eviction for failure to pay rent.

Check it out if you are behind in your rent or utility payments.

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/coronavirus/mortgage-and-housing-assistance/renter-protections/find-help-with-rent-and-utilities/

Pretty Good Overview of How to Stay Safe Financially as You Age

6/29/2021

Some elder advocate organizations have put together a pretty good online resource for helping you know how to keep your money safe as you age. (Elders are the main target of scammers.)

https://thinkingaheadroadmap.org/money-path/intro

Even if you think you have everything all set, it's worth looking these pages over.

The Thinking Ahead Roadmap is for everyone, not just people with significant assets. It includes information specifically geared towards "solo agers" (who don't have an immediate family member or partner to step in) and people with complex personal situations.

This new tool was designed by Dr. Marti DeLiema of the University of Minnesota and by Naomi Karp and Steve Vernon, research scholars at the Stanford Center on Longevity, with support from AARP and the Society of Actuaries. It's based on extensive research through interviews with experts from multiple disciplines (including elder law attorneys on this list - thanks for your help!), focus groups and an online community forum of over 100 older adults.

In addition to the website itself, the roadmap is available in PDF form to download, as are additional helpful documents. In the future, it will be available for ordering in print.

Please help spread the word about the Thinking Ahead Roadmap to your colleagues, clients, families and communities.

Check and See -- Does Oregon Have Your Unclaimed Property?

6/14/2021

Oregon has an unclaimed property registry, currently in the Department of State Lands but moving to the State Treasury Office on July 1.

You should check it once in a while - it's quick and easy.

Just click https://unclaimed.unclaimed.oregon.gov/oregon.gov/ and enter your name.

Nice resource for Oregon Legal Research - Integrated, Readable Online Statutes and Administrative Rules

6/18/2020

Coder-turned-Attorney Robb Shector has further enhanced his first big online laws project from his law school days, the excellent online Oregon statutes depository (Oregonlaws.org). Robb has made that even more valuable by coming up with a way to provide a very smooth integration with the statutes from his version of the online Oregon Administrative Rules (OARs). Robb's OARs database now provides hotlinks to statutes so you can easily go check the statutes as you are researching the rules and then easily return to the rules.

You can see Robb's administrative rules set here: https://oregon.public.law/rules (photo below of the entry page).

Having worked with others (I don't have the technical chops to do the coding myself) to bring readable OARs to Oregonians for a long time (see OregonAdminRules.org tab at top of page), I know Robb put in an awful lot of work.

Hats off to Robb for bringing this home at last. It's pathetic that the State of Oregon publishes statutes and rules in such a poorly designed format (all left-justified text that is all but impossible to use without extensive manual reformatting).

It would require little or nothing by the state to give Oregonians these important publications in a clear, always-up-to-date, easy to use form, as Robb has shown.

Another great resource for your COVID-related legal questions

4/18/2020

Links to http://www.consumer.law/

Oregon's Gov. Brown bars creditor garnishments of CARES checks

4/18/2020

The Governor has wisely ordered that any Oregonian's CARES check be free from garnishments by creditors (except for restitution garnishments for criminal justice debts) during the COVID-19 emergency. The top picture is the key provision. If you want the full text and all the details and definitions, the full order is shown below that and you can download it by clicking on the down-facing arrow.

Kudos to Gov. Brown for acting to help Oregon families survive this crisis in this critical period.

Outstanding FREE Online Resource "SURVIVING DEBT" to read if you are struggling financially due to COVID-19 (or for any other reason)

4/6/2020

The heroes at the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC.org) have made their comprehensive 50th Anniversary guide for debtors called “Surviving Debt” available at no charge for ANYONE.

This is an outstanding resource for ordinary folks who don’t want to try to read law books or statutes etc. It’s in clear, plain English. I have given away more than two dozen copies to friends and clients and it’s usually the first book I reach for when someone has a question about how to manage their debts of ANY kind.

While you isolate in place, if you are worried at all about your finances, take the time to read the first 10 short chapters and then the chapters for your type of debts. So you don't have to read it all -- just the first couple chapters and then the chapters that pertain to your type of problem.

(And if you yourself are able to make a contribution to NCLC, they would welcome it and put it to good use.)

Find it here: https://library.nclc.org/SD

Chapters

OREGON & COVID 19: insurance firms must extend premium & claim deadlines; and State offers help desk you can call with questions

3/26/2020

State issues grace period order for insurance deadlines

Salem – The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services issued a temporary emergency order today in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. It requires all insurance companies to extend grace periods for premium payments, postpone policy cancellations and nonrenewals, and extend deadlines for reporting claims.

The COVID-19 outbreak has caused widespread business closures, job losses, and social distancing measures. This severe disruption to business in the state includes some Oregonians’ ability to make insurance premium payments, report claims, and communicate with their insurance companies.

“During this crisis, we must all do our best to help Oregonians focus on staying healthy, care for their families, and prevent the spread of the coronavirus,” said Andrew Stolfi, insurance commissioner. “Many of our insurers have already stepped up and done the right thing. This order will ensure every Oregonian who needs it has relief from these insurance policy terms, giving them a measure of security and stability.”

Insurance companies must take steps immediately to do the following until the order is no longer in effect:

Institute a grace period for premium payments on all insurance policies issued in the state
Suspend all cancellations and nonrenewals for active insurance policies
Extend all deadlines for consumers to report claims and communicate about claims
Provide consumers the ability to make premium payments and report claims while maintaining safe social distancing standards

The order is effective immediately, and will be in force through at least April 23. If necessary, the department may extend the duration of this temporary order.

If Oregonians have questions or concerns about their insurance company or agent, they can contact the department’s advocacy team at 888-877-4894 (toll free) or visit dfr.oregon.gov for more information or to file a complaint.

For insurance and financial services information related to COVID-19, visit the department’s website:
https://dfr.oregon.gov/insure/health/understand/Pages/coronavirus.aspx.

Please watch if you need relief from your bills during COVID-19 slowdown

3/26/2020

Fellow consumer attorney Ian Lyngklip of Michigan produced this helpful video that you should watch if you are stressed about bills during work interruption from COVID-19.

LAWYERLY FINE PRINT:

John Gear Law Office LLC and Salem Consumer Law. John Gear Law Office is in Suite 208B of the Security Building in downtown Salem at 161 High St. SE, across from the Elsinore Theater, a half-block south of Marion County Courthouse, just south of State Street. There is abundant, free 3-hour on-street parking throughout downtown Salem, and three multi-story parking ramps that offer free customer parking in downtown Salem too.

Our attorneys are only licensed to practice law in Oregon. This site may be considered advertising under Oregon State Bar rules. There is no legal advice on this site so you should not interpret anything you read here as intended for your particular situation. Besides, we are not representing you and we are not your attorneys unless you have hired us by entering into a representation agreement with me. While we do want you to consider us when you seek an attorney, you should not hire any attorney based on brochures, websites, advertising, or other promotional materials. All original content on this site is Copyright John Gear, 2010-2020.

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