Mast, Schulz, Mast, Johnson, Wells & Trimyer, P.A.

Cleveland Strawberry Festival This Saturday, April 25, 2009

The Law Firm of Mast Schulz Mast Johnson Wells & Trimyer will be at the 10th Annual Strawberry Festival in the Cleveland Area of Garner/Clayton this upcoming weekend. We will have a tailgate grill (by Holland Grills) giveaway, clown face-painting, balloons, and other items to give away. 

The Strawberry Festival is hosted by the Greater Cleveland Chamber of Commerce.  There will be a variety of events and activities for all ages.  There will be Inflatables, a mechanical bull ride, slides, and other fun. In addition to local businesses, vendors will be on site selling food and snacks, including the usual favorites, cotton candy, funnel cakes, hot-dogs and of course strawberries.

The Cleveland Fire Department will be on hand to teach children how to get out of a home in the event of a fire.  For all of you car enthusiast, the 2nd Annual Classic Car show will also be held.

Stop by early to get a Chamber Strawberry Festival T-Shirt and please visit all of the Chambers' Gold Sponsors.

Please stop by our table as several of our attorneys, paralegals and staff will be on hand, including Don Wells, Past President of the Greater Cleveland Chamber (2008).

The festival is located on Technology Drive between Highway 42 and Glen Road (near the Food Lion).

Hope to see you all there.

Ron Trimyer

For more information please visit http://www.greaterclevelandchamber.com/

Brochure for when you are in a car accident

Would you know what to do if you were in a car accident?  The following is a link for a printable checklist and brochure for you to use if it ever happens to you.

Download Car Accident brochure (English)

Download Car Accident brochure (Spanish)

Our firm has been handling car accidents for over 40 years.  Contact us if you have been in an accident.  You can call our offices at 919-934-6187 or 919-661-2005, visit our website at www.mastschulz.com, or feel free to email me at charles@mastschulz.com.

Charles Mast

Mast Law Firm Files Class Action to Recover Illegally Collected Child Support

The Mast law firm filed a lawsuit on behalf parents throughout the state and beyond that have been forced to pay child support when they did not owe anything. The complaint alleges that the Defendants, including the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Johnston County and other counties ( Durham, Hoke, Alamance, Wayne, and others) have collected illegal child support for years. 

Child support enforcement usually provides a great service to the citizens of North Carolina by ensuring that children are taken care of by the responsible parents. However, sometimes, parents can "lose" their rights by way of adoption or through termination proceedings that can be brought by a relative (such as a grandparent) or the department of social services (DSS). Once the termination proceedings/adoption is finalized, the one who adopted or brought the termination proceedings against the biological parent becomes financially responsible.  What this means is that once finalized the biological parent owes no further child support from that day forward. In one instance a grandmother that had custody of her grandchildren filed a "termination proceeding" against her daughter and "served" her via the newspaper and obtained an order.  

Thereafter, Johnston County Child Support Enforcement brought child support proceedings against the mother and collected over NINETEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS ($19,000.00) that she did not owe. The mother’s wages were garnished and her tax refunds were sent directly to the state. She had to pay this money or risked being thrown in jail. This is because in NC if you cannot pay child support a judge can hold you in contempt and send you to jail for thirty days.  Other cases have been discovered including one in Wayne County where a child had been adopted and the father was still required to pay support, had seven (7) orders for arrest issued and twelve (12) orders for contempt against him.

The lawyers at the Mast Law Firm are seeking to correct this system which allows the Counties and State to pursue child support illegally. It is possible that there are individuals in jail right now who should not be. We are trying to recover that money lost by these citizens illegally from the State, the County, and the negligent attorneys working for them who caused this to happen.

If you or anyone you know has had their "parental rights terminated" and continue to pay child support, feel free to give us a call so that we can assist. You can call our office at 919-934-6187, visit our website at www.mastschulz.com, or feel free to email me at ron@mastschulz.com 

Ron Trimyer, Attorney

New Bill may finally allow garnishment of wages to satisfy judgements

In a recent session of the North Carolina General Assembly, House Bill 10 was introduced which may allow an additional means to collect civil judgments.  Often, the only way to collect judgement is to try to force an execution (seizure, sale) on the defendent's (debtor's) property, such as real estate or personaly property (vehicles, equipment, etc.).  Currently the law allows for certain exemptions from collection like an allowance for real property, vehicles, tools of trade, etc. 

In situations where the defendant owes money and does not have anything to collect from, the judgement may be uncollectable. Sometimes after a judgment is entered, the debtor may choose not to purchase any property in his or her name to prevent collection (like leasing property or  titling in another's name). Obviously this can be frustrating to persons who are owed money due to the harm caused by another (such as an auto accident).

Currently, even if the defendant is working there is not a means to collect money from thier paychecks. The new law attempts to address this issue. Under proposed the proposed version of N.C. Gen. Stat. s 1-362 one can obtain an order that will direct an employer to garnish an employee's wages as payment towards a judgment.  Employers will be allowed to retain a fee for thier compliance with the order of up to $5.00 per pay period which will essentially be lost by the creditor as a convenience fee for the service. Typically, garnishment in North Carolina is often only allowed for payment of child support, taxes, etc.

This new means to garnish wages could have a significant impact to persons who have been hurt, injured and/or damaged by persons who do not have a strong net worth, but who like many of us, hold a job but need to be held accountable for wrongs that they have done. Additionally, this may enable more victims who have legitimate and valid claims to seek compensation for thier loss, and may make it easier to find a lawyer to handle thier case. 

If you or anyone has been injured or damaged by someone else, please feel free to give us a call at (919) 934-6187.

by Ron Trimyer

Our website is www.mastschulz.com and you can email me at ron@mastschulz.com

New Home Buyer/Great Rates

We are seeing great mortgage rates in the area of 4.5% fixed for a 30 year term.  With some of the new federal incentives, you may also qualify for an $8,000 benefit if you are a first time home buyer.  Some of the pundits state that we have not seen these rates for 25 years, and predict that it will be another 25 years before we see them again.  If you presently own a house, it is also a great time to look at refinancing your loan.  As a rule of thumb, if you can reduce your loan by at least 1% go for it!  My firm can help you.  Give us a call.  Brad Schulz