Are you a candidate for bankruptcy?

How can you know if YOU should be considering bankruptcy? Thousands of people file bankruptcy each day because difficult circumstances prevent them from paying their bills. In 2005 nearly 2 million bankruptcies were filed nationwide. Job and medical problems are the most common reasons people cite for filing bankruptcy. A study by Harvard Law School showed that two out of three people in bankruptcy have lost their job and half have experienced a serious health problem.

Contrary to public perception, the study said the average bankruptcy filer is well-educated, a homeowner and married. In fact, many successful people, including Walt Disney, Donald Trump, Mark Twain, and Frank Lloyd Wright have used bankruptcy to forge a fresh start. During our first visit to discuss bankruptcy, we will assess your situation and weigh the different options available. If you can answer any of the questions below affirmatively, it would be useful for us to meet.

Do you hate answering the telephone because you are avoiding multiple bill collectors?

Are you falling further and further behind on your home mortgage, rent, credit card, or other payments?

Have you had a disastrous event happen to you or your family, such as a serious medical illness or loss of job that will affect your ability to make payments on your outstanding debt?

Does all of your paycheck go to cover your debt payments and leave little, if any, money left to buy groceries, medicine or clothing?

Do you have to rotate which bills get paid each month?

Are you borrowing money to pay your bills?

Are you using one credit card to pay another credit card?

Do you regularly get red "pay now" notices - so often that you often disregard the non-urgent bills?

Do you lie awake at night trying to figure out how you are going to make ends meet?

Are your wages being garnished? House in foreclosure? Car repossessed?

What about credit repayment programs?

You may have heard of or already tried credit-counseling services in order to reduce your monthly payments. Unfortunately, credit counseling services do little to reduce your actual debt and may actually increase the length of time it takes to pay off that debt. Studies have estimated that only 4% of debt management plans survive the first year of what is typically a 3-5 year repayment program. If you are currently in a repayment program but do not feel it is helping your financial situation, explore the option of bankruptcy.

Part of the problem with credit-counseling services is that they are primarily funded by credit card companies - their primary goal is to help the bank, not to help you.

If you are in a credit-counseling program that is not fulfilling your needs, call my office or request further information by providing your contact information.

If you need to learn more or think you might be a candidate for bankruptcy, it is essential we discuss your situation in greater detail.