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Sacramento Bankruptcy Bust
Sacramento Bankruptcy Bust
A recent Sacramento bankruptcy bust shed light on one of the basics of bankruptcy. Tell the truth! Filing bankruptcy is a powerful tool. It allows you to eliminate debt you are unable to afford. After filing for bankruptcy creditors can no longer come after you. Lawsuits, collection letters, wage garnishments and even creditor phone calls must come to an end when a bankruptcy is filed. Sounds good, right? Well for those in need, it is.
But with the relief bankruptcy affords comes responsibility. You are obligated, under penalty of perjury, to be honest in your paperwork when you file for bankruptcy. This includes disclosing all your debts. It also includes revealing your assets. All of them. A Sacramento resident who filed for bankruptcy didn't do this. This Sacramento bankruptcy bust was revealed in a recent Sacramento Bee story. He didn't list all his debts. And perhaps more damming, he didn't list all his assets.
Before this man filed for bankruptcy, he acquired lots of debt. Hundreds of thousands in credit card debt. With his borrowed money he bought real estate. This wouldn't be a problem if he payed the debt back.
Or even if he intended
Common Bankruptcy Myths
Common bankruptcy myths are many. But they shouldn't deter filing for bankruptcy for those in need. Why? Because they are not true. Bankruptcy is a powerful financial tool for those unable to afford their debts. Your debts can be eliminated or, at the least, reorganized. Some of the most common misconceptions of bankruptcy are laid out in this post.
Common Bankruptcy Myth:
You Must Surrender Your AssetsNot true. One of the most common bankruptcy myths is that you cannot protect your property. Not so. Bankruptcy law allows you to protect your assets. Usually all of them. Exemption laws provide protection of your property when you file bankruptcy and, as a result, you don't have to lose everything. As I have counseled countless clients in Sacramento, you don't have to give up your possessions when you file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy laws let you keep your home, cars, cash and retirement. And the list goes on. Every case is different, as are individual finances. But the point is you don't have to surrender your property to gain debt relief through bankruptcy.
Common Bankruptcy Myth: Bankruptcy is Bad for Your Credit
It is. But if your debt is worse your credit can improve by
Financial Stress
Financial Stress
Financial stress is, well, stressful. That is not news to millions of Americans coping with money woes. This Forbes article points out the percentage of Americans who are struggling to make financial ends meet. It is a tough task.
Much of the advice given out to counter financial stress often involves debt elimination or reduction. That’s a good way to go. If you can. The reason so many are struggling with debt is they don’t have the income to pay it down. That’s why they are in debt in the first place.
Bankruptcy is a way to eliminate debt when you cannot afford to pay it back. Bankruptcy is normally considered a last financial resort. And it should. But for those who can not pay their debts it is their only resort. It is also a way to eliminate not just your debt, but the financial stress that accompanies it.
Debt is a big source for financial stress. There’s no doubt about that. But financial woes are not just about money owed. Financial stress can cause a mindset of dispair. A feeling of not being able to get out from under. Money problems can stress not only your
Sacramento Bankruptcy: Bankruptcy Myths Exposed
Sacramento Bankruptcy: Bankruptcy Myths Exposed
Over the next few weeks and posts, I will expose some of the major bankruptcy myths out there. The first, and often the most common, is that bankruptcy is a financially irresponsible move. Or that it is financially irresponsible to incur more debt than you can afford to repay. This US News report reflects many of these myths.
The reality is that most debt discharged, or eliminated, through bankruptcy, is tied to medical treatment, bills and living expenses. Rarely are debts discharged through bankruptcy perceived as financially irresponsible. That’s because they’re not. It’s a myth.
The cost of living has increased. And it has increased at a much faster pace than in years past. Just ask a college graduate with student loans, the uninsured ill, or underemployed parents trying to provide. Debt has become a necessity of American life. And that is definitely no myth.
What, then, to do with the debt? The credit card industry has tried to portray and perpetuate the myth that filing bankruptcy on your debt is financially irresponsible. But why? They don’t want there debts discharged is why. Debt you can pay is one thing. Debt you can’t repay is
Ides of March
Ides of March
According to Wikipedia, the Ides of March marks the date Julius Cesar was slain by his own. The assassination marked the end end of one Roman empire and the beginning of another.
The term ides of March means, literally, only the 15th of March. But the meaning of the term signifies much more. Beware is likely the most popularly accepted term to coin the concept of the Ides of March.
When it comes to debt, beware is often overlooked. Too frequently debt plays too intimate a role in our daily lives. And so with it goes the cost. The costs of debt to consumers can be crippling. And often it is. What, then, to do?
Popularized concepts to control the costs of debt often involve prioritizing and paying down your debt. Picking the most expensive creditors to pay first is another idea that supposedly helps. TheImage result for ides of marchre are other alternatives out there to dealing with your debt. At least those that are part of the popular culture of debt relief. But beware of the Ides of March!
Paying down your debt. Paying one creditor first, faster than the others. And paying sooner rather
Bankruptcy Bad Idea
Bankruptcy Bad Idea
Bankruptcy affords you protection from your creditors and the elimination (or reduction) of your debt. But along with the benefits, bankruptcy comes with restrictions and responsibilities. One limitation is the amount of property you can protect in a bankruptcy. As discussed throughout this website, you can exempt your property when you file bankruptcy. Though there are limitations on the amount and type of property you can protect. Bankruptcy law mandates you disclose all your assets in your bankruptcy filing. Applying exemption laws you can then protect your property. Many, if not most, consumers can protect all they own. Not disclosing all the property you have, though, is a bankruptcy bad idea.
Posting pictures of property you did not disclose in a bankruptcy filing on social media is a really bad bankruptcy bad idea. Rapper 50 Cent may have put himself in this spot. Recently he posted on social media pictures of him surrounded by piles of cash. 50 Cent is in an active bankruptcy case now. If he did not disclose this money in his filing, he may be in big trouble. This news story explains his potential legal predicament.
If 50 Cent had this money
Sacramento Bankruptcy: What is a Bankruptcy Conversion?
Sacramento Bankruptcy: What is a Bankruptcy Conversion?
Bankruptcy conversion is changing the chapter of your bankruptcy filing after you have already filed. Types of bankruptcy are organized by chapters of the federal law that created them. Though there are many types of bankruptcy chapters, the most common for consumers are Chapter 7 and 13. Other areas of this website address all of the differences between Chapter 13 and 7 bankruptcies. But for this issue, suffice it to say that you repay at least some of your debts in a Chapter 13 (bankruptcy reorganization), but none in a Chapter 7 (bankruptcy liquidation).
If you file for one type (or chapter) of bankruptcy and, later, decide to do another before your case is complete, you can convert your bankruptcy. This means that you change your case from one form of bankruptcy filing to another without having to refile your case. Much of the information in your new bankruptcy chapter will have to be provided after you convert. But you won’t have to refile another case to do it.
Refiling a bankruptcy often comes with a penalty. To prevent people from filing too many bankruptcies, particularly in quick succession, Congress imposed restrictions on