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No one looks forward to having to file for bankruptcy, but with the help of a good lawyer, it’s certainly possible to come out the other side better prepared for the future than before. Before hiring a bankruptcy lawyer, however, make sure you have all your records gathered together in one place. There will be a lot of paperwork to file, and everything you claim has to be proven.

Bankruptcy code in the United States is different from any other country. In the US, when a company such as Kodak or Hostess files for chapter 11 bankruptcy, they are allowed to shed obligations and legal debts that they can’t pay in order to survive.

In other countries, firms that file for bankruptcy are forced to liquidate, or pay back loans over a long period of time. In England, when a company files for bankruptcy, the management is fired.

In my opinion, no attorney can provide a consumer with more relief, more quickly, than a bankruptcy attorney. On the day a bankruptcy petition is filed, in fact at the very moment the petition is filed, the bankruptcy court enters an order called an automatic stay. The order is entered pursuant to the provisions of section 362 of title 11 of the United States Code.

A recent announcement from the national bookseller Barnes & Noble stated that they are considering spinning off their Nook business into its own separate company. Many financial analysts are wondering if this is a prediction of potential future bankruptcy filings for Barnes & Noble, and if the recent plummet in the profits of book retailers was inevitable.

When most people think about bankruptcy, they think about it in terms of Chapter 7 or “straight bankruptcy” when you just “wipe out” or discharge debts. This fresh start sounds nice; however, this is not always the best answer for many reasons. If it is not the best answer, then, should you file a Chapter 13 debt consolidation? Filing a chapter 13 debt consolidation can help one resolve many issues.

According to a news report published recently by the Federal Reserve, consumers acquired a large amount of credit card debt during the month of November.

Revolving debt, which is usually credit cards, saw a large 8.5% increase during November, and non-revolving debt such as student and car loans saw a larger increase of 10.7%. According to the report, American consumers now carry $2.48 trillion in debt, without counting mortgages.

University of Illinois law professor Robert Lawless says “Yes, that’s a big jump. More common increases are about 2%.”

Historically, people have filed chapter 13 bankruptcies in order to stop foreclosures, and allow borrowers to pay off outstanding mortgage payments. Recently though, due to the decline in home values, many more people are looking to give up their properties in chapter 13 filings. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is usually a better idea if someone is planning on surrendering their property, but unfortunately that’s not always feasible.

The advent of credit in the United States has provided citizens with a huge convenience. It has allowed individuals to purchase things based on their trustworthiness, rather than simply their bank account balance.

The ease of obtaining credit is not without its downsides, however. Many people wake up to find themselves deep in debt, struggling to survive. If you are currently feeling stressful levels of debt, then here are a few tips that could help alleviate the problem:

Many of our clients are active duty military or government employees or employees that work for defense contractors. As a result, many of these prospective clients will have either secret or top secret security clearances which are required for their jobs. A common question we get asked is “how will filing for bankruptcy affect my security clearance?”

The economy is extremely tough right now. It is not only in the backs of everyone’s minds, but it is also the #1 political topic, and for good reason. It seems like every single family has had to deal with financial hardship in some way, whether income was reduced, a job was lost, work hours were increased without pay increase, or a loved one came upon hard times.

There is one group who the economy has hit much harder than others though: Graduating students.