According to the National Bankruptcy Center, consumer bankruptcy filings rose in February of 2011. The American Bankruptcy Institute Executive Director, Samuel Gerdano, said, “Though consumers are striving to reduce their debt burden, high unemployment and a poor housing sector continue to fuel new bankruptcies.”

Personal bankruptcies have fallen 8% compared to the same time a year ago. The data for the first couple of months might indicate consumers won’t have a repeat performance of bankruptcy filings in 2010, where more than 1.6 million bankruptcies were reported (the highest level in five years).

Not everyone can avoid bankruptcy. When are you financially bankruptcy and when should you consider filing for bankruptcy protection? If your current sustainable income plus any cash reserves will not pay all of your living expenses, pay interest on outstanding loans, and reduce some of your principal on those loans, while paying on them for five years, you may be bankruptcy. Paying off debts for five years is chosen because five years is the maximum legal number of years a United States Bankruptcy Court allows for a bankruptcy repayment plan.

Avoiding bankruptcy in this economy may take planning, skill, and luck. Our country has enjoyed good fortune (luck) throughout most of its glorious history, and most citizens have reaped the economic benefits. Even last year when bankruptcy filings were very high, the number of filings was only 1% of the adult population.

Bankruptcy can occur due to a divorce, foreclosure on personal or business property, loss of income, health problems, poor business decisions, bad timing, bad advice, or a poor economy.

Planning to avoid bankruptcy is not always successful, but without plans you are much more likely to experience bankruptcy. Planning to avoid bankruptcy can include purchasing insurance, contributing to a financial savings, building a reserve fund, and establishing a retirement account.

Developing good skills can also help you avoid becoming bankrupt. Some of the skills you might use to avoid bankruptcy include: accounting skills, specialty work or trade skills, social skills, reading and writing skills, and planning skills.

Can you avoid bankruptcy? If you have suffered a personal or financial crisis, maybe not.  If you are considering filing for bankruptcy protection, you may need the legal expertise of a bankruptcy lawyer. If you need of relief from the stress of debt and you live in or around the metropolitan area of Oakland, California, contact us at www.betterbankruptcy.com .We will help you find a bankruptcy attorney in your area who will answer your bankruptcy questions.

Sharks are voracious predators. They are bottom feeders that eat almost anything, and they have the reputation of tenaciously ripping their prey apart with large teeth that are not only bone hard but razor sharp.

Scientists who have studied the behavior of sharks, say sharks circle their prey in order to size up the image they are observing. Since sharks have to keep water moving over their gills in order to breath, moving around an object in the water is the only way they can evaluate their prey. 

The Wall Street Journal recently posted a news article written by Eric Morath. Seems the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) did a survey on their membership, consisting of lawyers, judges, and other bankruptcy officials. The survey reviewed whether or not junk debt buyers, the bottom feeders of the financial world, should be allowed to participate equally in the bankruptcy liquidation process after buying debt from the creditors of a failed company. 

According to the article, junk debt buyers often buy debt in troubled companies for pennies on the dollar from vendors, bondholders and other creditors. The successful buyers then become vocal advocates in the bankruptcy case, pushing for larger recoveries for their level of debt or to take ownership in the company. 

The speculative activity can have a negative impact on the bankruptcy process, but there are certain groups who disagree. In the ABI poll, 63% of the membership polled strongly disagreed with the statement, “a party that bought claims for pennies on the dollar should receive less in bankruptcy than the original claimants would have received.” Another 11% of the members who responded disagreed only somewhat with the statement and 21% of the respondents showed some level of support. 

I was surprised by the response of those in the the bankruptcy industry. If the junk debt buyers never had a financial interest in the company prior to the bankruptcy, are there ethical issues surrounding such a strong active role by this group during the bankruptcy process? Are the junk debt buyers the sharks of the financial world? 

The bankruptcy system still works, despite the predators, and hiring a bankruptcy lawyer can help you understand the complexity of bankruptcy laws. If you need relief from the stress of debt and you live in or around the metropolitan area of Baltimore, Maryland, contact us at www.betterbankruptcy.com .We will help you find a bankruptcy attorney in your area who will answer your bankruptcy questions.

According to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, bankruptcies filed in Buffalo and Rochester fell 15.8% since April of 2010. In a 17 county area, they continued to fall in Western New York for the 11th straight month. Some say, “The reduction in bankruptcies has been driven, in part, by a slowdown in mortgage foreclosures and less credit available for borrowers to get into trouble. That means the reasons for the drop have more to do with the secondary effects of the recession than with actual economic improvement.”

Basically, two areas in the current recession have been more responsible for driving people to bankruptcy- foreclosures and credit card abuse. The housing crisis caused a record number of foreclosures, but they have slowed considerably in the past year, partly because of the national controversy over “robo” signing and partly because of a glut in housing inventories. 

The state of New York requires borrowers and creditors to meet in a settlement conference to try to work out a loan modification before a foreclosure can proceed. Settlement conferences have been particularly successful in places like Western New York, alleviating the threat of foreclosure. 

Credit card abuse was rampant at the beginning of the recession when jobs were suddenly lost, and credit card companies shut down the availability of credit, especially to the less credit worthy. The banks used several methods to reduce credit including: reducing the marketing of new credit cards, denying new applicants, cancelling cards, and reducing credit lines. These actions stopped borrowers from accumulating debt. In addition, people with good credit cut back on their spending in response to the shaky economy. 

Whether the economy is beginning to recover or not, bankruptcies are on the decline in Western New York. This area of the country, although economically wounded, was not hit as hard by either the housing crisis or the recession as some other areas of the country. 

Nevertheless, with bankruptcies declining, some in the area believe it might be a sign people are having fewer financial problems, getting into less financial trouble, and beginning to get their houses in order. That is good news, not only for people in Western New York, but for the people around the country. 

Although bankruptcies are dropping in Western New York, bankruptcies continue to be very common. Filing for bankruptcy can protect both the creditor and the debtor and can allow an honest person or business to solve their financial crisis. 

If you are still struggling with your finances due to the recent recession or a home foreclosure caused by the housing crisis, you have the right to file for bankruptcy protection. 

Bankruptcy laws can be complicated, and you may need the legal expertise of a bankruptcy lawyer. If you need relief from the stress of debt and you live in or around the metropolitan areas of Buffalo, Rochester, or Niagara Falls, New York, contact us at www.betterbankruptcy.com .We will help you find a bankruptcy attorney in your area who will answer your bankruptcy questions.

The 99ers, as they call themselves, are those people who have been unemployed for more than two years and have exhausted the full 99 weeks of state and federal unemployment benefits. 

As part of the stimulus package, a 20 week federal extension was offered to participants. The mean average in 2011 for unemployment checks is $330 per week, according to MSN Money magazine. The average income in 2011 for an individual is approximately $550 per week. That means a 99er is making at least $220 a week less than normal. Once you use up your unemployment money, unless there is another extension, finding a job is critical. 

US Today posted an article on May 17, 2011, written by William M. Welch, on the 99ers’ loss of benefits from long-term joblessness. He used this personal bankruptcy story of Susan Harrell of Akron, Ohio, as an illustration: 

“Harrell, 58, has been jobless for more than two years and exhausted the full 99 weeks of state and federal unemployment benefits available to her. After earning as much as $60,000 a year, Harrell was laid off from her telecommunications job in 2005 and in April 2009, from a part-time bookkeeping job. 

She says she has gone through her savings and 401(k) retirement plan. She’s lost her home, her car and health insurance and filed for bankruptcy. That was while drawing a $260-a-week unemployment check; now that is gone as well. She recently signed up for food stamps. 

Harrell sees signs that her job outlook improving, particularly for low-paying jobs. However, she says few people seem interested in hiring someone her age, despite legal prohibitions on age discrimination.” 

Not only has Harrell lost her job, she has lost her home, car, health insurance, retirement benefits and self-esteem. She had to file for bankruptcy to start over. Her story is similar to other people filing for bankruptcy protection. 

Her unemployment benefits are about to run out. Harrell, like so many others, will have to take a job making much less than she has made in the past. This is termed “underemployment”, and outsourcing has been one of primary contributors to underemployment. 

If you are laid-off or fired, younger and more inexperienced workers will often apply for your old job. Employers will hire these new employees for less, expecting them to remain with their company longer because they are younger. Many statistics show there are more than 200 qualified applicants for each job opening in today’s work market. 

If you are a 99er like Harrell, there are no easy answers. You have the option, like she did, of starting over. You can file for bankruptcy, but you may need a bankruptcy lawyer who can answer your bankruptcy questions. 

If you need relief from the stress of debt and you live in or around the metropolitan areas of Seattle, Bellevue, or Everett, Washington, contact us at www.betterbankruptcy.com .We will help you find a bankruptcy attorney in your area who will answer your bankruptcy questions.