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Should I Exhaust All Other Options Before Filing for Bankruptcy?
When past-due bills and calls from debt collectors have you dreading the mailbox and the phone, bankruptcy may feel like your only way out. While filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 provides one answer, that doesn’t mean that it’s the only one – or even the best one for you. Before moving forward with a decision that would impact you for years, take the time to explore your particular situation and what other options might make more sense. While filing for bankruptcy has the benefit of immediately halting credit collection actions, it does not necessarily eliminate all of your …Read More ➡
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What Happens to Alimony Payments During Bankruptcy?
Deciding to file for bankruptcy is a momentous decision. From one perspective it represents a significant step toward an improved quality of life and a future free of stresses your friends, colleagues and family may have been unaware that you were living with. On the other hand, it represents an embarrassing admission that things have gone terribly wrong. In both cases, it is similar to filing for divorce, which is ironic because one of the most frequently asked questions about bankruptcy is about how it will impact the arrangements that agreed to when a couple has split. The short and …Read More ➡
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Common Causes of Divorce
Every marriage starts out with high hopes and an eye to a forever future, but only about half actually make it to happily ever after. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks divorce and marital disruption in the same way that they do diseases, and found that by the time couples reach the 5-year anniversary of their wedding, more than one in five have either separated, divorced, or ended as a result of a partner’s death. By 20 years more than half have ended, and when surveyed those that have divorced cite remarkably similar issues as the cause of …Read More ➡
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Filing for Bankruptcy if You’re Self-Employed
Many people dream of becoming entrepreneurs, and not all of those who take the leap will be successful. When a self-employed person finds themselves facing insurmountable debt – whether as a result of business failure or for an entirely unrelated reason – they frequently believe that filing for bankruptcy will be harder without paycheck stubs or other income documentation. Though earnings history is an important part of the information required when filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, bankruptcy courts have recognized that self-employed business owners and independent contractors will need to provide different types of information. If you are …Read More ➡
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Should I Sell My Home Before Filing for Bankruptcy?
Insurmountable debt leads people to stress and frustration. Bankruptcy is an option that can help, but it is a process that few people fully understand, and most people view as a type of surrender. In trying to find the best solution to alleviate the situation, many people contemplate selling their home, especially if they have a significant amount of equity in it: After all, they assume that they are going to have to give it up anyway, and if that is the case then they think they will probably get a better price if they sell it themselves, and then …Read More ➡
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Can a Stepparent Apply for Custody During a Divorce?
Child custody is almost always a fraught issue within a divorce. Presumably, both of a child’s parents want what is best for the child and believe that means spending a maximum amount of time with them. Their actions — and arguments — are also driven by their own sense of loss in the face of spending less time with the child. These scenarios are both heartbreaking and all-too-familiar, and they occur whether a parent is biological, adopted, or even a stepparent. Each state has taken its own approach to whether and when a stepparent can apply for custody during a …Read More ➡
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Steps to Take Before Filing for Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal proceeding that most people have heard of, but until you’ve actually gone through it you don’t know what to expect or how to prepare. Like anything unfamiliar, filing for bankruptcy can be intimidating to anticipate, but if you take the following steps one at a time, you can feel confident as you move forward. Complete credit counseling – These courses are required prior to filing for bankruptcy. They only take about an hour and can be taken online or over the phone. The cost of this class is generally about $25. Pull together all of your …Read More ➡
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Will I Lose My Work Tools During Bankruptcy?
One of the scariest aspects of filing for bankruptcy – and particularly for Chapter 7 bankruptcy – is the knowledge that the court has the right to sell your assets to satisfy your creditors. As stressful as this is for the average person, if your ability to earn a living is dependent upon items that you’ve invested a significant amount of money in, it is perfectly reasonable to fear that these items will be sold, leaving you with no way to support yourself unless you spend that money all over again. Fortunately, there are certain exemptions to asset sales that …Read More ➡
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At What Age is Bankruptcy Most Common?
Filing for bankruptcy has an unfortunate and unfair negative association. Though it is easy for those who are not facing serious debt to sit in judgment, these individuals have no sense of the types of pressures or circumstances that have led to a person’s economic woes. A closer look at the statistical realities of bankruptcy makes clear that in the vast majority of cases, bankruptcy filings are a result of outside issues that have left the filers with no real choice. If you are considering filing for bankruptcy, it is perfectly normal for you to feel isolated and alone. The …Read More ➡
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How to Handle Divorce After Adultery
Adultery is an extremely painful experience. It is completely normal for a spouse who has learned about their husband or wife’s affair to feel anger, pain, and grief all at once. The emotions you feel may run the gamut, from wanting to strike back and cause equivalent pain to questioning your own self-worth. Some people immediately move to try to save their marriage, while others see no way out but divorce. There is no right answer on what to do – it is a completely personal decision. One of the myths that circles around divorce holds that clients whose spouses …Read More ➡
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