Blogs

Everyone knows that seniors are being hit hard by the pandemic. The risks of serious illness and death are more significant for those over 65, and isolation can be especially hard on the elderly. That element is compounded by strict safety precautions in nursing homes and other residential facilities populated by older Americans. In addition, there’s an obvious tendency for older populations to be less connected through technology.

If your retirement savings aren’t what you’d hoped--or you don’t have any at all--you’re not alone. By many different measures, Americans are lacking when it comes to retirement planning. 

Financial Struggles are a serious issue in Alabama.  In 2019, Alabama had the highest per capita bankruptcy filing rate in the country. At 5.62 filings per 1,000 people, Alabama more than doubled the national average. Neighboring Tennessee and Mississippi were also among the top five states. 2019 was no exception--Alabama has held the top slot for per capita filings for several years. And, the state has so far continued to hold the lead in 2020. 2020 rates have dropped across the country due to the disruption of the pandemic, but Alabama remains far above the national average. 

If you’ve recently received a notice that one of your credit card accounts has been closed by the issuer, or that your credit limit has been cut, your first instinct may be to wonder what you did wrong. Usually, accounts are limited or closed when the credit accounts are significantly past due, or when the cardholder’s credit history has taken a negative turn. 

Currently, we are not living in usual times. 

Early in the pandemic, two safety nets emerged to protect Alabama renters. First, Governor Kay Ivey’s March executive order put a moratorium on most residential evictions until June 1. At the same time, federal law called a halt to residential evictions from properties that were federally subsidized or financed with federally-backed mortgages.

In most areas of life, problems have a straightforward solution. For example, if you want to lose weight, you undoubtedly know that you should get more exercise and eat healthier. But that doesn’t always translate into action - we’ll start tomorrow; we need to find “the right gym”; it would be a real shame to let those pudding cups in the fridge go to waste. Even then, on any given day, you can wake up in the morning and decide to take a long walk or have a grapefruit for breakfast instead of a donut, and you’ve taken a step in the right direction.

Imagine that you’ve been wrestling with debt for a couple of years, and finally decided to take charge and reclaim control of your finances. You hire an attorney and file Chapter 7 bankruptcy. A few weeks after you file, you buy a Tennessee lottery ticket while you’re paying for gas and you win. 

Now what? 

Financial stress and pressure from debt collectors can create a sense of urgency that isn’t always productive. The urge to get a creditor off the phone, stop the threatening phone calls, eliminate the possibility of a lawsuit and otherwise dial down the pressure makes many people reach for the first available release valve. Too often, that means a dangerous financial decision that will ultimately do more harm than good. 

Over the past 30+ years, Bond & Botes has been blessed with attorneys who are skilled not only in the practice of bankruptcy law, but in the very machinations that improve the experience for all involved. Wm. Joey Schiffman is one such attorney.

A graduate of Samford’s Cumberland School of Law in 2012, Joey went on to gain his Master of Laws in Taxation from Boston University. From there, he was a Staff Attorney for the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division until making his way back to his home state of Alabama. 

The short answer is “no,” but there’s some good news, too. Before we jump into the options you do have for making things right with a friend or family member when you file bankruptcy, let’s look at the general rules for repayments leading up to a bankruptcy filing and how “insiders” are treated differently.