Good Lawyers in Injury Divorce DUI

Peter M. Brant and his soon-to-be ex-wife and former super model Stephanie Seymour have been in an extravagant divorce to end their 15-year marriage. When Brant met Seymour, he was a billionaire and know for his vast art collection and his very own polo team. She was a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and the ex-girlfriend of [...]

The American Bankruptcy Institute’s ABI Journal recently released a study that says that 42 percent of all debtors filing for bankruptcy were between the ages of 45 and 64 in 2007 and that older Americans file for bankruptcy at a faster rate than young adults.  The increased rate of bankruptcy filings among older Americans is due to a combination of unemployment, medical debt, high credit card debt, devalued homes and the decimation of retirement funds. Not to mention the amount of discrimination many older Americans face in the employment market making it difficult for them to reenter the workforce after suffering devastating financial blows. Many older Americans are losing their jobs and losing their health insurance which can make them vulnerable to the financial fallout of medical emergencies.  Medical debts pile up and they file bankruptcy.  But before an older debtor files bankruptcy because of unemployment or medical debt, they often drain their home of equity or raid their retirement account in an attempt to repay debtors and avoid bankruptcy.  What they don’t’ understand is that by doing this they are often digging themselves deeper into a debt hole that only bankruptcy can dig them out of.  And like a line of tipped over dominos older debtors with equity lines of credit struggle to repay their debts and succumb to foreclosure, rely on credit cards and eventually face creditor lawsuits after months of avoidance and using one source of debt to pay another.  It is at this point that older debtors finally file for bankruptcy.  And it is at this point in their financial crisis that bankruptcy is the save haven they so badly need.

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1. Over 50 and Tackling Debt? Things You Should Consider
2. How To Prevent Job Loss Related Financial Disaster
3. Bankruptcy and Retirement

The truth is out, the housing industry is not recovering and the economy may be facing a double dip recession.  Sales of previously occupied homes plunged to their lowest level in 15 years and that’s despite the presence of some of the lowest mortgage rates we’ve seen in decades.  But what is driving this perfect storm of economic malaise?  And why are the current conditions driving even more people into bankruptcy?  Fear, unemployment and the mortgage industry’s resistance to change are three major factors driving the foreclosure crisis and the tsunami of bankruptcies hitting cities around the nation.

People are afraid, afraid of losing their jobs, losing their homes to foreclosure and not being able to sustain the payments on a new mortgage.  This is why they aren’t buying the glut of houses on the market; but this is also why the mortgage industry has severely tightened their lending standards.  The mortgage industry knows that unemployment, right now the leading cause of foreclosure and bankruptcy, is rampant and they are afraid of lending to the “wrong” people.  But the irony of the mortgage industry’s stance during this foreclosure crisis is that they are primarily responsible for creating the quagmire that is currently crippling this economy. It is the mortgage industry that refuses to change, to modify toxic mortgages or to even untie the hands of the bankruptcy system so that bankruptcy judges can modify residential mortgages and save homeowners from foreclosure. But the other irony is that because the mortgage industry’s fear and resistance to change, even more homeowners are seeking the protection of bankruptcy.  So many homes have lost significant value that many 2^nd and 3^rd mortgages are becoming unsecured debt and dischargeable in bankruptcy. In a twist of fate, this devaluation of personal real estate gives many homeowners the opportunity to save their home from foreclosure by using bankruptcy after all and many of them are jumping at the opportunity.

Related posts:

1. Why HAMP Is Failing To Stop The Foreclosure Crisis
2. Can Bankruptcy Reform Save 6 Million Homeowners From Foreclosure?
3. Loans For Unemployed Homeowners May Not Slow The Foreclosure Crisis

Many unemployed debtors are filing bankruptcy because they simply can’t pay their bills, are facing lawsuits and asset seizures.  Generally speaking these unemployed debtors have had decent credit and paid their debts faithfully and on-time while employed; but because of unemployment or persistent underemployed they have become delinquent and need to file bankruptcy.  Unfortunately, some uninformed or misinformed employers may misunderstand a job candidate’s bankruptcy filing and misinterpret their bankruptcy filing as a moral and character failing.  This type of thinking, especially during this economy is a sign that many employers need a dose of reeducation regarding personal bankruptcy. But until we can reeducate these businesses on a mass scale, post-bankruptcy debtors need to be careful to present their bankruptcy in the proper light. Below are two important things every post-bankruptcy debtor must do if they are looking for employment:

1. Don’t hide your bankruptcy.  If an employer says that he/she is going to run a credit check then you need to make them aware of your bankruptcy filing.
2. Understand that those employers who misjudge bankruptcy filers are not necessarily against bankruptcy; but they are usually against many of the misconceptions about why people file bankruptcy.  For example, some misinformed employers believe that bankruptcy filers are irresponsible, have poor impulse control or refuse to take responsibility for their actions.  While there are certainly bankruptcy debtors who fall into those categories, most bankruptcy debtors are individuals who have fallen upon hard times and need a helping hand.  It is the post-bankruptcy debtor’s job to assure the employer that they belong to the category of responsible debtors who have fallen upon hard times and used bankruptcy to get a second chance.

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1. Will My Boss Fire Me If I File Bankruptcy?
2. Credit Checks, Bankruptcy And Employment
3. As Unemployment Increases More Employers Use Credit Checks

Editors’ Note: As each new 1L class begins its legal education, our thoughts often turn back to our own first few weeks of law school.  This post begins a new series on “What I Wish I Had Known When I Started Law School.” I went to law school for all the wrong reasons. When I started in Georgetown’s part-time, [...]

If you’ve been watching the news and following the celebrity blogs then you’ve probably heard that Teresa Giudice is taking a lot of heat for spending $60,000 on home furnishings after filing bankruptcy.  Her bankruptcy attorney is supposedly defending the purchases saying that the money spent was from income earned after the bankruptcy fling and therefore could be legitimately spent for necessities such as furnishing her home.

“That was the money she earned as an advance for her book Skinny Italian,” her attorney Jim Kridel tells PEOPLE. “Since she earned it after the filing, she was absolutely free to spend it.”

But many people were shocked and upset about Giudice’s splurge not so much because she may have broken bankruptcy laws, but because they felt that she was spending lavishly while in bankruptcy.  This is the deal, Giudice lives a lifestyle that requires lavish spending and that lifestyle is probably one of the things that drove her into bankruptcy.  How many of us live a lifestyle where we live beyond our means, drive up debts we can’t pay and eventually need to file bankruptcy?  Bankruptcy is offering Teresa Giudice and her husband an opportunity to get a fresh financial start; but she cannot successfully take advantage of that opportunity if she is not willing to change her spending habits after bankruptcy. The Giudice family must make the effort to drastically pull back on their spending and abandon the idea of living a luxurious lifestyle if they cannot afford it. Giudice and many other less wealthy individuals are seduced by the idea of appearing to live in the lap of luxury even if it means they will squander the second chance that bankruptcy affords them. Don’t allow the ego boost that a faux luxurious lifestyle provides to ruin you second chance after bankruptcy.

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1. Teresa Giudice Spent Extravagantly After Bankruptcy Filing According To Court Documents
2. Why Teresa Giudice And Her Husband Are Just Like The Rest Of Us
3. ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ Bankruptcy Drama