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Many people wait too long to file bankruptcy. We have reported before that the average person who files for consumer bankruptcy has been struggling with debt for two to five years before making the decision. That’s a long time to live with financial stress, and often means a lot of hard-earned money down the drain in the form of interest and late fees. Delaying a bankruptcy filing can also have consequences such as foreclosure, wage garnishment and automobile repossession. 

Usually, people filing bankruptcy want to make sure they can include certain types of debt. Debts that can’t be discharged in a Chapter 7 case or included in a Chapter 13 repayment plan can limit the effectiveness of a bankruptcy filing. And, of course, everyone wants to be in a stronger financial position after bankruptcy, with as little debt as possible. 

Still, people considering bankruptcy sometimes ask whether they’re required to list all of their debts in the bankruptcy filing. Some reasons a bankruptcy petitioner might not want to list debt include: 

Many Americans are concerned about the high cost of care if we get seriously ill with COVID-19. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the median hospital stay for a COVID-19 survivor who is admitted is from 10-13 days. That is a big bill, even for many with insurance. For the uninsured or those with very high deductible plans, the debt could be crippling. 

We keep hearing that we’re all in this together, but one group seems not to have gotten the memo: scammers. It’s no surprise, when you consider the huge number of scams targeting people facing foreclosure and in other types of crisis. As of the end of April, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is reporting tens of thousands of Covid-19-related complaints. So far, the bulk of these complaints have been from the hardest-hit, most populous states.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports that U.S. consumers ended 2019 with record-high debt. In the 4th quarter of last year, household debt climbed $193 billion, to a total of $14.15 trillion. Mortgage debt accounted for about $120 billion of the increase and 68% of the total. The remainder was attributable to:

Chapter 13 bankruptcy nationally a less commonly filed form of bankruptcy, and it isn’t what most people think about when they hear the word “bankruptcy.” Most folks think about Chapter 7 or straight bankruptcy when they hear the word bankruptcy. In Alabama, Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a more popular choice.

The COVID-19 crisis has turned everyone’s lives upside down. Businesses are shuttering, employees are finding themselves furloughed, and LATE RENT notices are starting to pile up. With all this stress and uncertainty, our representatives have been working on solutions to try and curb the economic impact of this pandemic.

The answer to this question, like most things in life, is maybe.  This is how I usually see this particular situation arise in my law practice:  Someone has held a public trust or secret clearance for a number of years.

Before the current crisis began, we wrote about the surprising number of Americans whose low wages kept them struggling financially despite low unemployment rates.

As you have probably heard, our representatives on Capitol Hill recently came together and passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. There are some interesting repercussions directly related to bankruptcy law that we want our readers and clients to be aware of.