I've been a baaaad Blogger

My posts have been few and far between since summer, but now that my sorority's fundraiser is over, I can get back to regular pursuits.

Today is election day here in Lake County, Indiana. The races being contested are the municipal offices like mayor and city council. We have quite a mayor's race in my town of Hobart. The incumbent mayor lost in her bid for a fourth term in the primaries in May, so we are guaranteed a new mayor for the next four years. I don't really want to go into the race, suffice it to say it's been fairly dirty, and if there had been a "None of the Above" choice, I would have taken that one.

I've been re-reading Frank Herbert's Dune books for the past few months, and something I read in them really hit home for me. I used to believe that power corrupts, and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. But Herbert made the statement in "Heretics of Dune" to the effect that power attracts the corruptable. This is exactly the case in this county, and to a lesser degree the city. These offices attract the people with the least favorable attributes in our society: bullies, liars, thieves. I paint with a broad brush here, and I understand there are exceptions to every rule. There are good public servants who work hard at thankless tasks for not much money and are under appreciated. Unfortunately, these officials are scarce and definately the exception.

Until we the people really take the time to consider who we are voting for instead of blindly pulling one or the other straight party levers, we will continue to get exactly the government we deserve. Eva Peron was right when she said this 50 years ago.

I've been tagged

I've been tagged to reveal seven things about myself that would be news to people that know me, so here goes...
(1) I hate bare feet, not necessarily yours, but my own
(2) I was awarded the Phi Beta Kappa Key in 1977 at Purdue University
(3) My favorite fun thing to do as a kid (if you don't count softball) was flying kites
(4) I have two phobias: knives and fire
(5) I have NEVER mowed a lawn
(6) There are certain words that I really dislike; the one that pops into my head is "busted" as in "The little boy fell and busted his arm" ; I think it is poor English and a sloppy way to speak.
(7) I could watch "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" every day and still laugh at it.

There they are.......tag! Now you're it.

Things to Accomplish before my next birthday

A blog I visit occasionally is "A Beautiful Mess" by Elsie Flannigan. Elsie posted a challenge to list several things you realistically wish to accomplish before your next birthday. Since mine is in September, I don't have very long, but here goes:

1. Design and Publish our first firm brochure to give to clients; we have alot of experience in many areas of law, but we needed a way to let our clients know this. Tom has been after me to do a brochure we can give to clients to enhance our repeat business and referrals. I found a program I think will work for us, so it's now just a matter of DOING IT.

2. Get back on the FlyLady program; see http://www.flylady.com/ That pretty much says it all.

3. Get our yard completely ready for winter: prune bushes and trees, pull out dead plants, cut back perennials, put away yard furniture,etc. This is about a two-weekend job since I do this myself.

4. Begin work organizing the upstairs storage area. I really want to get this area in order so that if Chicago gets the 2016 Olympics, we can be in a position to finish the upstairs rooms for a "bed and breakfast" area I have been thinking about. I think we could pay for the renovations with what we would make over that 2 week period, if it does come to pass.

I think that's enough to realistically think I can get done in the next 51 days.

Peggy Noonan

One of my favorite political commentators is Peggy Noonan. Ms. Noonan is an editorial contributor to the Wall Street Journal and a frequent guest on the "talking heads" news programs. She is a former speechwriter for George H. W. Bush and Ronald Regan.

Her opinion columns for the WSJ are always spot on. Her column today is particularly insightful. Check it out by clicking on the title above.

A fun site

I love the "Found" magazine website. It features found items submitted by people all over the world. I think what I like about looking at these items is that it brings us all closer to one another. We can see how alike we are. And they are usually hilarious.

I really enjoy reading the comments to the finds. There are some really wicked funny people in this world, and none of them are on TV or in the movies, but right there in the cubicle beside us.

Enjoy.

Foreclosure Sales

Have you lost your home via Sheriff's Sale? If so, you may have some sales proceeds coming to you that you are unaware of. Don't expect help from the mortgage company or the Court Clerk's Office to collect these proceeds either. The Clerk has a vested interest in keeping you from asking for your money. Here is what I am talking about...

If your home was lost due to a foreclosure, you probably received a notice that the County Sheriff was ordered to sell your property to the highest bidder to satisfy the foreclosure judgment balance (mortgage balance plus costs plus fees). The Sheriff holds these sales monthly, with most counties holding a moratorium on sales during the worst winter months (December-January). Sales are held by auction, with the property being sold to the highest bidder. The sales proceeds are paid out to satisfy the foreclosure judgment and fees first. Usually the bid is lower than the judgment balance. HOWEVER, occasionally the home will be sold for an amount in excess of the judgment and fees. When this happens, the former home owner is entitled to the excess. The excess sales proceeds are paid into the Clerk of the Court. The secret is that you will never be notified if your home sold for more than the judgment balance. It is up to you to check with the clerk after the sale to see if they are holding excess funds. If you do not request the funds within a year, the money is transferred to the state to be used for it's purposes.

If your home was sold at a Sheriff Sale, you should contact the clerks office to see if they are holding funds for you on your case. You will need your foreclosure case number (it will be on the Sheriff's Sale Notice or any of the legal filings on your case). We can assist you in petitioning the court for these funds once you have established that there are funds being held for you. Contact us at 219-942-7580.

Let me Introduce our Firm...

Hallett Law Office, P.C. is an Indiana Professional Corporation with offices in Northwest Indiana. We are located in Hobart, IN, and accept cases in Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Starke, and Jasper Counties. Thomas P. Hallett established this office in 1981, first located in Merrillville, later in Portage, and now in Hobart since 1988. Denise M. Hallett joined the firm in 1998, after practicing 14 years in Merrillville with Bowman, Heintz, Boscia, and McPhee, P.C., concentrating in Bankruptcy Law. Prior to that association, Denise was a Trust Officer and Assistant Cashier for four years for The First National Bank of Crown Point, which later became The First Bank of Whiting, and is now known as Centier Bank.

While primarily a weblog to discuss legal topics of interest, I may post articles on other topics. We are lawyers by profession, but that is not ALL we are, so I plan to write on topics we are passionate about in addition to legal topics that are important to everyone today. We welcome comments to the articles. After all, everyone is entitled to their own opinion on a subject. That's why they make chocolate AND vanilla.