NC Garnishment affecting busy man

[erchess]

A man is about to be garnished by NC over some few hundred dollars that he clearly owes and can eventually pay but cannot pay right this minute. The tax debt is from a year in which the couple saved money filing separately but his wife is more than willing to take on joint responsibility for the debt. In fact this year they are filing jointly and after their 2012 state refund is taken they will owe around a hundred bucks which they will pay by the end of June. The problem is that the man is currently working 12 hour days seven days a week and because of the nature of the work he can't call in with me on a day he works nor can he miss time over a tax matter. He can call me every day it rains to see if I can work him in or he can let his wife represent him on the phone with me. (We'd do a POA but not sure when I could get with him to get a signature on it.) So what I want to know is whether the wife and I can negotiate an installment agreement without him? He's ultimately not that bothered by the idea of the garnishment I guess.

Is it just me or is this guy's head not on straight?

[JohnH]

Mail him the POA (or email to him if he has the technology available) . If he signs it and gets it back to you, then you can handle it for him. If he's too busy to do that simple task, then you're too busy to waste any more time on him.

[Lion]

Three way calling: call his cell or whatever, dial into the IRS, have him give his permission for you and IRS to converse.... Email him/wife the POA for him to sign and one of them get it back to you. Or, let him worry about it and you stress over someone else instead or simply relax.

[FEDUKE404]

Am I missing something?

I don't think getting the IRS involved will have very much effect upon the NCDOR non-payment issue.

Why in the world would you even get involved in this, especially at this time of year? The NCDOR is notorious for going after unpaid debts (separate from anything resulting from income tax errors) and they will routinely withhold refunds for things as mundane as unpaid county property taxes, college expenses, parking tickets, child support/alimony, and who knows what else!

And you're seriously considering negotiating an installment agreement for "some few hundred dollars" ??

This H/W could end up paying you more money to referee than they would have to pay in total finance charges for a consumer loan from the local credit union!

FE

[Lion]

Sorry, by the time I scrolled down to reply, the fact that it said NC was hidden. And, my short-term memory is fried, so couldn't remember it wasn't IRS. My point was that three-way calling can be a help, or just let client show some initiative!

[geekgirldany]

Yeah for a few hundred dollars why do an installment agreement. Tell him to mail in a payment for what he can and then pay the rest. Sounds like he is just trying to put it off on someone else to deal with. I have a client who works two jobs, 12 hours a day and he comes to me when driving between jobs. I think if he really wanted to he could make time to come in to see you.

[Snaggletooth]

He's a Bozo

Erchess, this guy is a bozo. How on earth did he ever find you?

If tax matters were something people could be too busy for, then NO ONE would ever find time to do it.
Tell him these tax authorities are going to put up with low priority for so long, then they are going to
rise up with a vengeance.

Kinda like my neighbor telling me my house is on fire, and I tell him I'll get around to it after
"American Idol" gets done with this weeks' episode.

For a lousy hundred bucks?

Ridiculous.