MVLS Tax Hotline Now Open

Now that the July 15th Tax Day has come and gone, it would be easy to think that tax issues are done. However, that is not the case and there are new updates to be aware of. To help address many of these tax issues, MVLS created a free Tax Hotline (443-451-4091) to help individuals who need assistance.

For individuals who filed an extension, the new Tax Day is October 15. An extension is only an extension to file, NOT an extension to pay. If you will owe taxes for 2019, it is best to file as early as possible to avoid additional failure-to-file penalties. If you owe taxes, but are unable to pay them MVLS can assist with determining what options may be available to resolve outstanding debt.

MVLS’ Tax Hotline can also help answer any questions you may have about the Economic Impact Payments, also known as the “Tax Stimulus Check.” Although most checks have already been issued and there is discussion of a second payment coming, there are some individuals who haven’t received the first one. MVLS can assist with tracking down unreceived payments and provide information about additional resources. If you still need to file your 2019 tax return in order to receive your Economic Impact Payment, MVLS may be able to assist you with that as well.

MVLS is available to answer any questions you may have about taxes. Dealing with the IRS and the Maryland Comptroller can often be confusing and frightening. MVLS can help. The Tax Hotline (443-451-4091) is available for brief advice, but support can be provided for other tax issues. MVLS’ Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) can help with back tax issues as well as any other tax questions that arise.

If you need assistance with any of your tax issues, please reach out to MVLS’ Tax Hotline at 443-451-4091 on Monday-Friday from 10 am-4 pm. If your call is not answered, please leave a message and all calls will be returned.

May 2021 Volunteer of the Month – Stephanie Guevara

Stephanie Guevara began volunteering with MVLS in 2019 and handles Landlord Tenant, Labor and Employment, Consumer Protection, Family Law and Immigration issues. She has taken several cases that were reassignments from previous volunteers, where she turned things around and got a successful outcome for a client with a tough case!

Read on to learn why Stephanie volunteers:

Why do you choose to volunteer with MVLS?

Because I absolutely love to put my skill to work for clients who otherwise will have to go unrepresented due to lack of funds to pay market price for an attorney.

Do you have any standout stories?

My first client from MVLS, who was blind, had been trying to divorce her estranged husband for 20 years. She tried to get a divorce through another attorney but they backed out when the estranged husband was avoiding service. After using a private process server who reduces rates for MVLS clients, we were able to get the affidavit of evasion necessary to support a grant of a motion for alternative service. She was extremely happy for how easy it was for us after that! She wanted to invite me to a “divorce party” she was going to throw but the divorce was granted during the COVID quarantine.

What is your favorite part about volunteering with MVLS?

The clients are genuinely grateful and happy to achieve their legal goals. I love sharing the moments of success and joy with them.

Why should other attorneys do pro bono?

It builds stronger people and therefore a stronger society. I feel all of us sometimes take for granted how blessed we are to be able to have the capacity to finish college, finish law school, pass the bar, pass the character fitness exam, and go into practice. We forget about the people who are completely unable to manage their own legal affairs due to lack of knowledge and skill.

So why should attorneys not do pro bono and watch as clients who lose inheritance, lose shady debt collection cases, can’t divorce their spouse and die, leaving their things to people they do not love, have no will, lose their home in foreclosure, can’t get their security deposit back, or get evicted from their home? Especially if we could have done something but didn’t? We can’t be that cold as human beings with special skills.

Where do you see the impact civil legal services in the next ten years?

Mortgage interest rates are incredibly low, which is driving today’s housing prices higher. When the market corrects itself, many people will find themselves underwater. Foreclosures could go up as a result. Also, the evictions will be starting up someday soon and this will cause a mass of people to lose their rental homes due to high arrearages built up over the pandemic. As children return to school, the schools will have to honor IEPs completely, so education cases will likely be on the rise.

Updates from MVLS’ Executive Director, Susan Francis

Greetings,

On March 24, 1981, Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service was officially created to give voice to the voiceless in the judicial system. And here we are, 40 years later, focused on achieving our founders’ vision of providing access to justice for all, not just for those that can afford it. In our first 40 years, MVLS and our volunteers have ensured that over 100,000 Marylanders didn’t have to face a complicated legal system on their own. It is humbling to participate in this audacious vision.

As part of our 40th anniversary, we created a timeline to highlight major moments in MVLS history.

You can see it here. It gives you a sense of the growth and evolution of MVLS over the years.

In addition to our core pro bono program, currently MVLS has 16 dedicated programs that address pressing needs of vulnerable Marylanders including keeping older adults in their homes, helping survivors of human trafficking, closing the wealth gap in Black neighborhoods, and reducing employment barriers for workforce trainees.

Here are a few highlights:

In 1994, we created our first dedicated project, the Adult Protective Guardianship Review Board (APGRB) Project, to ensure that the rights of individuals with disabilities in guardianship proceedings were protected. It continues to this day.

In 2000, we added our Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC). In an area that’s easily overlooked, we provide essential help to individuals facing tax controversy issues with the IRS or Maryland Comptroller and most recently have led the effort to ensure that those who most needed the Economic Impact Payments and the Maryland Relief Act credits could navigate various barriers in order to receive their funds.

Following the housing crisis in 2008, MVLS launched our Foreclosure Prevention Project. I joined MVLS in 2013 to serve as the first staff attorney on this project. The Foreclosure Prevention Project showed us that with a targeted staff attorney, we can provide support for our volunteers, particularly in evolving areas of the law, focus on collaborating and partnering with other programs and community partners, and highlight and work towards changing problematic barriers in the law. This model has instructed every new project we have launched since then because it enables us to have tremendous impact both with individual representation of clients as well as with securing systemic changes to the issues we work on.

Within the last decade, MVLS grew exponentially. When I joined MVLS we had 12 staff members, now, we are a staff of 28. I believe our focus on addressing issues of income and racial inequities within our legal system, as well as being laser focused on what type of legal challenges we can address as a pro bono program, is what has driven much of this growth. When the expungement law changed in 2015, it provided the opportunity to remove many more non-guilty convictions from an individual’s record.

At that point, we didn’t have dedicated staff to expand this work, but we had a deep conviction that we needed to remove employment and housing barriers, particularly for Black neighborhoods that have been historically over-policed and over-incarcerated. In that year, we went from helping seven expungement clients to over 700. This work led to the creation of our Workforce Development Project and a fundamental shift in how we engage with community partners. We now invest significant time and resources working with our community partners throughout the state and making sure our staff are regularly engaged in the communities we serve.

In 2018, we launched our My Home, My Deed, My Legacy campaign, targeting Black legacy homeowners in Baltimore City, who are all too frequently at risk of losing their homes to tax sale, foreclosure or disrepair. Housing stabilization has become a core tenet of our work at MVLS. First with foreclosure prevention, and then addressing tax sale, and then providing estate planning outreach through our Advance Planning project. We came to realize that MVLS had a critical role to play in reducing wealth extraction in communities of color. The My Home, My Deed, My Legacy campaign builds upon all of these existing programs to ensure that homeowners can preserve their homes for themselves and future generations.

Throughout our first 40 years, what has made the depth of our services possible are our volunteers. Despite our doubling in size, our 13 staff attorneys couldn’t possibly be subject matter experts in all the civil legal areas that MVLS provides assistance in, and they couldn’t have helped 4,459 clients last year without our volunteers. The impact of MVLS directly relates to the commitment of our volunteers. With COVID-19, our clients face unparalleled challenges. The needs of Marylanders as moratoriums lift and courts reopen will be staggering. We will look to our volunteers to help us meet the tremendous need.

I don’t think any of our founders could have guessed all that MVLS has become. We commit to them and to ourselves to continue each day to pursue justice for all, not just for those who can afford it.

Sincerely,

Susan Francis

Executive Director

April 2021 Volunteer of the Month – Michael McKeown

Michael McKeown is an attorney at Robert Ades & Associates, where his practice focuses on foreclosure defense, wills, bankruptcy and debt collection defense. Michael has been a volunteer with MVLS since 2013, and has taken a 39 cases.

Read on to learn why Michael volunteers:

Why do you choose to volunteer with MVLS?

MVLS makes it easy for volunteers to pick the cases they’re interested in via the Pro Bono Portal. Also the staff is very helpful and friendly. Other pro bono programs I’ve approached about volunteering, “vet” the attorneys and have a tendency to only work with attorneys from large corporate firms.

Do you have any standout stories?

A number of years ago I had a medical collections case where the medical provider took the client to court because they did not follow the appropriate Medicaid billing procedure. Under Medicaid the provider can only bill the client directly under limited circumstances. In this case, those limited circumstances weren’t available. The collection attorney for the provider made it seem like it was partially the clients fault for their failure to get paid.

What is your favorite part about volunteering with MVLS?

My favorite part about volunteering with MVLS is working with the staff and clients. Also, the MVLS staff is great and helpful.

Why should other attorneys do pro bono?

Since Maryland has mandatory pro bono reporting requirements, I think one great way to fulfill this requirement is to actually take pro bono cases. I understand that some attorney’s are limited by time or practice areas. New attorney’s shouldn’t feel that inexperience with poverty law is a barrier to pro bono work. The MVLS staff are friendly (yes, this is the 3rd time I’ve said that) and can find a mentor.

Where do you see the impact civil legal services in the next ten years?

Having been employed with legal services programs in the past, I see that the traditional areas of poverty law – consumer, public benefits, housing and family law, will still be growth areas even ten years from now. When the CDC ends the eviction moratorium after the pandemic is over, will see thousands of eviction cases filed across the country. In a few months from now, civil legal services programs all over the country will struggle to meet the need for representation in eviction cases. I think that’s where pro bono attorneys can step up and really help

March 2021 Volunteer of the Month – Reba Letsa

Reba Letsa is an associate at Baker Donelson, where she maintains a broad litigation practice with a focus on labor and employment and business litigation matters. Reba also serves on the Board of Directors for MVLS.

Read on to learn why Reba volunteers:

Why do you choose to volunteer with MVLS?

Volunteering with MVLS provides me with the opportunity and resources to connect with people in my community who are facing financial hardships and need assistance with navigating the legal system. I enjoy getting to know my MVLS clients, learning their stories, and hearing about their families. Interacting with my MVLS clients has taught me how to be a more effective advocate because of how invested I am in their stories and experiences through talking with them. As a new lawyer, volunteering with MVLS also provides me with hands-on legal experience in new and exciting areas of the law.

Do you have any stand out stories?

I recall preparing a will for a client who was very concerned about how specific items of her property with sentimental value would be distributed. After conducting her will execution ceremony, she told me on the drive home how at peace she felt that she now knows that her most beloved items would be passed on for her daughter to enjoy with her grandchildren. I am proud that my assistance could bring her some form of peace, stability, and certainty in these otherwise unsettling and uncertain times.

What is your favorite part about volunteering with MVLS?

My favorite part about volunteering with MVLS is working collaboratively with clients to combine my knowledge of the law with their knowledge and understanding of their stories and experiences to pursue a favorable outcome. MVLS also makes volunteering as easy as possible by training, mentoring, and supporting its volunteer attorneys to be confident to take on something new.

Why should other attorneys do pro bono?

When you reach the end of your career, the lives you have changed and the people you help with your legal services will be what matters and what you reflect on. All attorneys should do pro bono work because of the lasting impact that using our legal knowledge, privilege, and experience can have on our community. We as attorneys are responsible for creating a profession, legacy and community that we can be proud of. Pro bono service is also encouraged by the bar and by most, if not all legal employers – total win-win!

Where do you see the impact of civil legal services in the next ten years?

The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly increased the need for civil legal services, and I am confident that more attorneys will want to get involved and help as many clients affected as possible.

Economic Impact Payment: Round 3 – What You Need To Know

Starting this week, a third Economic Impact Payment (EIP) could be coming your way. With the passage of the American Rescue Plan, the federal government will be issuing checks.

This time, the amounts will be $1400 per individual, $2800 for married couples. The difference this time is that instead of receiving lower amounts for dependent children, families will receive $1400 per child. Another difference this time is that dependent college students, disabled adult children, or an adult parent will qualify for the $1,400 dependent payment (they didn’t last time).

To receive the full $1400, your income must be:

Individuals: $75,000 or less
Head of Household: $112,500 or less
Married Couples filing jointly: $150,000 or less

There is a phase-out for incomes higher than this.

The amount you receive will be based on your income reported on your 2020 tax return. If you have not yet filed that, then it will be based on your 2019 tax return.

Like the last payments, these will be sent via direct deposit or via mail, based on the information you provided on your tax return.

There are some other tax changes offered by the American Rescue Plan. These include enhanced Child and Dependent Care Credits, a higher amount of unemployment income being excluded from gross income, and significant enhancement of the Premium Tax Credit. Stay tuned for more details!

Maryland RELIEF Act – What You Need to Know

How do you spell RELIEF?

Maryland residents who filed a 2019 tax return and received the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) will be automatically receiving an economic impact payment from the Maryland Comptroller in the coming week. The Recovery for the Economy, Livelihoods, Industries, Entrepreneurs, and Families (RELIEF) Act provides for automatic payments of $300 to individual tax filers and $500 to spouses who filed a joint return, for a surviving spouse, or head of household. This payment cannot be paid towards other state debts, except for child support. These payments are also not subject to garnishment once deposited into a bank account. However, they may be considered taxable income for federal tax purposes for 2021.

These payments will be sent by direct deposit or by mail, based on the information you provided on your 2019 tax return. If your bank information or your address has changed since you filed that return, you can contact the Maryland Comptroller below to update this. You can also track your payment on the Maryland Comptroller’s website.

To contact the Maryland Comptroller:

Web: www.Marylandtaxes.gov/RELIEFAct

Email: ReliefAct@marylandtaxes.gov

Call: 1-833-345-0787 (select option for RELIEF Act information)

To be eligible for this payment, you must have filed a 2019 tax return and you must have claimed the EITC. This means that if you received social security or other government benefits but did not receive earned income, you are not eligible. You can check whether you are eligible on the Comptroller of Maryland’s website: www.Marylandtaxes.gov/RELIEFAct. You will need to answer security questions to verify your identity, so it is best to have a copy of your 2019 tax return with you when you check.

If you did not file a 2019 return and you were eligible for the EITC, you can still file.

To be eligible for the EITC, you must fit the following criteria:

Annual income of $50,954 or less ($56,844 or less married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children
Annual income of $47,440 or less ($53,330 or less married filing jointly) with two qualifying children
Annual income of $41,756 or less ($47,646 or less married filing jointly) with one qualifying child
Annual income $15,820 or less ($21,710 or less married filing jointly) with no qualifying children

Marylanders who receive social security or other government benefits are not eligible for this unless they also earned income in 2019 and were eligible for the EITC. Individuals who were claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return are also not eligible.

For additional FAQs, visit: https://www.marylandtaxes.gov/RELIEFAct/docs/Maryland-Economic-Impact-Payment-FAQs-FINAL.pdf.

February 2021 Volunteer of the Month – Victoria Eve Kelly

Victoria Eve Kelly is a tax and estate lawyer with 36 years of experience and offers services in Montgomery County, Howard County, Baltimore County, Frederick County and District of Columbia. Victoria handles tax issues including; audits, offers-in-compromise, installment agreements, lien removal, innocent spouse, filing back tax returns. Her estate planning services include; wills, international wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health directives.

Read on to learn why Victoria volunteers:

Why do you choose to volunteer with MVLS?

So many people have urgent needs, and can’t afford legal representation. I think it’s important for all of us to help address the unmet need.

Do you have any stand out stories?

It was particularly gratifying to help an older man resolve a state tax issue at a time when he was also experiencing significant health issues. Along with Janice Shih, Director of the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, we reached out to the Comptroller’s office. Happily, the Comptroller expedited a resolution, and we were able to give this gentleman peace of mind.

All my MVLS cases are interesting, though I’m now focused particularly on innocent spouse matters. When successful, an innocent spouse petition enables a joint filer to sever legal liability for erroneous reporting by a (usually former) spouse. Some of these cases involve significant abuse, and the facts can be complicated. I’m working with Janice, and MVLS volunteers Cheri Wendt-Taczak, Heather Posey, Michael Goldberg, and Peter Haukebo, to develop a tool kit that makes it easier for attorneys to accept these cases.

What is your favorite part about volunteering with MVLS?

Janice is great to work with, and MVLS network of concerned, collegial attorneys make it a fun, rewarding experience.

Why should other attorneys do pro bono?

I believe it’s the right thing to do, and it’s personally gratifying to be of service to someone who couldn’t possibly afford it otherwise. Pro bono service is always encouraged by the bar.

Where do you see the impact of civil legal services in the next ten years?

Legal services have always been important. The pandemic, economic slowdown, and income inequality will inevitably accentuate the need.

MVLS Issues Fiscal Year 2020 Annual Report

The 2020 MVLS digital annual report includes stories about the impact we were able to have at the beginning of the pandemic through June to the end of our fiscal year. Please take a few minutes reviewing what hope can look like in the form of determined advocates who will not stop lending a critical helping hand to others. It’s impossible to read these stories and not remain hopeful.

Dedicated, committed, and undeterred volunteers and MVLS staff refused to be stopped by a world pandemic. Yes, things had to be done differently, but that only lent itself to innovation and creativity. Despite the many personal and professional challenges so many of us have faced during COVID-19, our collective work to help those experiencing the worst impacts of this epidemic continued.

Thank you for your dedicated support as a volunteer, donor, funder, community partner, mentor, or advocate. Without your support we would not have had the incredible collective impact as is highlighted in our digital 2020 annual report.

A full version of the report is available here: https://mvlslaw.org/2020-annual-report/

January Volunteer of the Month – Jerry Schaefer

Jerry Schaefer is a retired attorney with over 40 years of litigation and corporate practice. His specialties include Nonprofit Trade and Professional Associations,
Insurance coverage and claims, and Civil and criminal defense litigation

Read on to learn why Jerry volunteers:

Why do you choose to volunteer with MVLS?

I initially volunteered with MVLS because MVLS not only provided the opportunity to serve people in real need of legal services who did not have the economic means to protect themselves, but also because MVLS provided the basic education in areas of practice meeting the needs of MVLS clients which practice areas were not within my personal practice and expertise. I found the training to be very thorough and the MVLS staff willing and able to answer questions and otherwise to be supportive of volunteer attorneys.

Do you have any stand out stories?

On the day of my initial training, I was told of a client with multiple significant and permanent disabilities who was in a seemingly hopeless situation following the tax sale of his home in a southern Maryland county. Years had passed since the tax sale and a judgment foreclosing the right of redemption had been entered, but the client was still living in the residence. I agreed to take the case expecting that nothing of substance could be accomplished for the client. With some luck, a loan from a relative, forbearance by the State Department of Assessments and Taxation, cooperation from the county and opposing party, and with the benefit of advice and support of the MVLS staff attorneys, I was able set aside the judgment and assist the client in redeeming his property. To say that the client was exceeding grateful is an understatement.

What is your favorite part about volunteering with MVLS?

For me, the collegiality in working with MVLS staff was worth the volunteer effort. But, knowing that someone in a desperate situation, who had no other option for assistance, has been helped has made the effort all the more satisfying and worthwhile.

Why should other attorneys do pro bono?

All of us have an obligation to provide some pro bono service. I think that all attorneys in the active practice of law love the challenge that the predicaments that our clients bring to us. Pro bono cases fall within the category of challenging cases, but resourceful counsel can make a huge difference for a person in need. The satisfaction of helping a pro bono client cannot be measured by any fee.

The challenging road ahead of us – Updates from MVLS’s Susan Francis

Greetings,

As we begin 2021, we at MVLS are well aware of the long road that lies ahead for our state and our clients due to the coronavirus. With the promise of vaccine distribution on the horizon, little hope exists for the devastating financial crisis currently underway for low-income Marylanders. Paradoxically, with an expected reduction in the COVID-19 infection rates, those struggling the most financially will experience added hardship as foreclosure and eviction moratoriums are lifted and state and federal courts clear backlogs of filings including debt collection and bankruptcy. To put it plainly, MVLS and our clients have a much more challenging road ahead of us.

While this epidemic has universally created anxiety, heartbreak, and hardship it is important to recognize that the financial devastation of COVID-19 is not being borne equally. Those who were already experiencing financial hardship because of low-wage employment and are disproportionately Black and Brown people are suffering the majority of the consequences of the country’s financial challenges.

Data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities from this fall reinforces these racial economic disparities.

Not Enough Food. 13% of households didn’t have enough to eat in the past seven days. While those numbers are concerning enough, more Black and Brown families are going hungry; 22% of Black households and 21% of Hispanic versus 9% of White households.
Behind on Rent. 1 in 5 renters owe rent, and of those struggling to pay rent, 14% are White, 26% are Hispanic and 29% are Black.
Covering Expenses. 36% are struggling to pay usual household expenses, with communities of color experiencing the highest need; Black – 52%, Hispanic – 50%, White – 29%.
Unemployment Rates. 53% of jobs lost between February to November were in the lowest-paying industries, which has disproportionately impacted non-white communities. Current unemployment rates – Black – 10.3%, Hispanic – 8.4%, White – 5.9%.

As we seek to find a path forward from the harms of the COVID-19 crisis, we must remember which parts of our society are paying the highest price, both in terms of health outcomes and in financial hardship.

What does this have to do with pro bono legal services?

As I mentioned in an earlier quarterly email, MVLS clients, because of our country’s long history of structural racism, are disproportionately Black. And these financial hardships being inflicted on communities of color will present themselves as legal issues when they fall behind on bills and are sued by their creditors, putting their wages and any remaining assets at risk of garnishment and seizure. They will come to us as the foreclosure moratoriums are lifted or if this year’s tax sale isn’t cancelled looking for help when they are facing the loss of one of the most stabilizing elements people can own – their homes. We will also get calls from clients when the creditors’ collection efforts become too overwhelming and they look to pursue bankruptcy as a way to make it all stop. Financial hardship and the unraveling of stability impact an individual’s entire life affecting all of the legal areas we provide assistance in – family, housing, consumer, estates and deeds, tax controversy, and expungement.

What lies ahead is daunting. It would be easy to throw up our hands and say it is all too much. But yet, I still remain hopeful. In the coming week, MVLS will be sharing our digital 2020 Annual Report. The annual report includes stories about the impact we were able to have at the beginning of the pandemic through June to the end of our fiscal year. It’s impossible to read these stories and not remain hopeful. Dedicated, committed, and undeterred volunteers and MVLS staff refused to be stopped by a world pandemic. Yes, things had to be done differently, but that only lent itself to innovation and creativity. Despite the many personal and professional challenges so many of us have faced during COVID-19, our collective work to help those experiencing the worst impacts of this epidemic continued. I would encourage you to spend a few minutes reviewing what hope can look like in the form of determined advocates who will not stop lending a critical helping hand to others.

I think most of us are happy to have 2020 behind us and hope for a 2021 that is brighter and better for our world. But we must remember to focus on our neighbors who are bearing the most brutal weight of this current pandemic and the ensuing challenges that will remain for many months and years to come. And we must keep offering that helping hand as we have done for the past 40 years Please join us.

Sincerely,

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Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service is grateful to the Baltimore Bar Foundation for its generous support of our 2015 website update.

Disclosure Statement:
Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service is a charity recognized as tax-exempt by the IRS under section 501(c)(3). A copy of the current financial statement of Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service is available by writing to 201 N. Charles Street, Suite 1400 Baltimore, MD 21201 or by calling 410-539-6800. Documents and information submitted under the Maryland Solicitations Act are also available, for the cost of postage and copies, from the Maryland Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis MD 21401, (410) 974-5534.

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