Consumer Education Is Key When Considering Bankruptcy

by Jon Arnold

Only a few short years ago, it used to be fairly easy to file bankruptcy, almost as easy as it is in the board game of Monopoly, where the ramifications of doing so were about the same as in Monopoly. But it was determined that so many people were taking advantage of bankruptcy to compensate for a lack of financial skills, a lack of money management, and basically attempting to lead a champagne lifestyle on a beer budget that the bankruptcy laws were recently changed.

To be sure, the bankruptcy laws still vary from state to state, but there are some things that even state legislature cannot disagree on if they conflict with the federal bankruptcy laws. Even at this, some people have attempted to file bankruptcy in a state that may have more lenient bankruptcy laws than the state in which they have listed as their address of residence, and one of the things that the new bankruptcy laws is doing is ensuring that people who file bankruptcy do so in the state in which they live.

Another requirement of bankruptcy with the new laws is that the person filing bankruptcy is required to attend credit counseling sessions and financial education courses. While this is still part of the law and you can expect that requirement into the foreseeable future, studies are starting to show that such a requirement has so far failed to deliver the positive results that were expected, and in fact have delivered very few significantly measurable benefits to the consumer.

Is there a value to requiring consumers to spend (or as some say, "waste") their time on credit counseling and financial education courses before being allowed to file bankruptcy? Many are saying it makes no sense at all. On one hand, the advocates who say it makes little sense are right, since by the time a person is so far in financial distress that bankruptcy is their most viable option, the time for financial education and credit counseling has long since passed. But on the other hand, how do you require someone to attend those classes and counseling sessions BEFORE they get into a bankruptcy situation, since the vast majority of people are unwilling to admit, even to themselves, that they are heading in the wrong financial direction.

Good consumer information about bankruptcy is one answer. While the government or the state cannot protect each and every consumer from financial folly, nor can they force the consumer to attend courses or counseling, they can put the monkey on the consumer's back by making information about bankruptcy available, perhaps even at no charge. The vast majority of consumers have no clue about the various chapters of bankruptcy and which one they should choose if they get into a bankruptcy situation.

Moreover, most consumers think of bankruptcy as their only option, when in reality the act of declaring bankruptcy should be the option of last resort. There are many viable alternatives to bankruptcy, most of which do not have the long-lasting negative impact on the consumer, such as the fact that bankruptcy stays on one's credit report for the next 7 to 10 years. Consumers should be taught about the options that are available before considering the "act of last resort", which is bankruptcy. For example, debt consolidation firms can pull a consumer out of the financial fire without requiring bankruptcy in many situations.

Consumer education about bankruptcy is paramount, and every consumer should make a point to understand at least the basics of bankruptcy, what it means, how it works, and most of all, what viable alternatives to bankruptcy are available.
For more insights and additional information about Bankruptcy Information and Bankruptcy Law as well as to get a free bankruptcy evaluation from a bankruptcy lawyer who is local to you, please visit our web site at http://www.bankruptcy-data.com



Bankruptcy - Can Ruin Your Credit Rating

By James Arther

It is a very unfortunate situation and can happen even to seasoned businessman or to a new entrepreneur. To avoid falling into such a trap one should ensure to keep his or her financial health in a very good state. Filing bankruptcy is not an easy job and one has to go through a very complex process involving lot of complex court procedure. Also it affects badly your financial rating for securing loans, which you may need for business development or for your personal requirements at any future stage of your life.

The debtor has to file the bankruptcy report in the court to stop further payment of interest on the borrowings on account of his inability to repay with declaration that his income is not going to improve in the near future as well. This requires furnishing causes of bankruptcy viz. losses in business, family dispute, job loss, poor health or illness, heavy expanses on treatment, natural calamity resulting in damage to assets or business etc.

In US Bankruptcy is dealt under uniform federal laws and fall under chapter 7, 9, 11, 12, 13 of bankruptcy code. Chapter 7 applies to debtor with no assets to repay, chapter9 applies to govt. municipalities, chapter-11 applies to owner or shareholders of companies, chapter12, to farmers and fishermen, chapter.13, to self employed and salaried individuals or family.

New York Bankruptcy cases in general fall under chapter7 and 13.The cases under chapter 11 have declined to almost negligible. Under chapter7, a person with income below average (fixed by court) is absolved from repaying his loan liability; Cases not falling under chapter 7 are therefore dealt under chapter 13. Under chapter13 if you have a regular monthly income and earn much above the average income as fixed under law (the last six months income is taken into consideration) are dealt separately with repayment options by extending their loan terms, revising monthly installments, reducing interest rates or by reducing liability limit after taking into consideration his earning capacity.

California bankruptcy law discourages filing bankruptcy cases in general. Most of the cases are dealt under chapter 13 and thus reducing cases filed under chapter 7 in order to minimize bankruptcy abuse as much as possible. In fact, one has to clearly declare that he has no resources to repay his debt. However, various exemptions are available as per law.

Las Vegas bankruptcy laws normally discourage filing cases under chapter7 which in real term mean one is totally without any asset and truly insolvent. The law encourages people to seek credit counseling and advises in general to file cases under chapter13 so that they could go for repayment of debt for at least up to next five years instead of writing off the full amount as under chapter 7.

Debtips is a resourceful channel to make you finance literate and helps you in managing your personal finances. You will get in-depth information about Debt Consolidation, Credit, Bankruptcy and Mortgage. Go ahead and make yourself capable enough to manage your personal finances.

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