Personal Bankruptcy up 37% over Last Year

Personal Bankruptcy Up 37% - Bankruptcy Attorney Earnings Up - 100%

Okay, I don't know that for sure, but one would certainly think an established personal bankruptcy attorney would stand to gain a lot of money during a housing crunch.

JUNE CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY FILINGS INCREASE NEARLY 37 PERCENT OVER PREVIOUS YEAR

July 9, 2007, Alexandria, Va.
U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings increased 37.1 percent nationwide in June from the previous year, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI). Relying on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC), overall consumer filings totaled 68,559 in June, nearly a 2 percent decrease from the 69,684 filings in May. Chapter 13 filings constituted 38.3 percent of all consumer cases in June, a slight increase over the previous three months.

"While bankruptcy filings are up more than 30 percent from the same period last year, they are less than half of what they were in 2005," said Samuel J. Gerdano, ABI Executive Director. "However, the underlying concerns of high debt loads are still a constant, pointing to rising filings in the future."...

Twelve Percent Know Someone who has Filed for Bankruptcy in the Past Three Months

Extra Credit?
September 24, 2007
By Mark Dolliver

A cut in interest rates offers little comfort if you don't qualify for credit. And that's the leaky boat in which many consumers find themselves, according to the latest Experian/Gallup Personal Credit Index survey. Eighteen percent of respondents said someone close to them has been turned down for credit within the past three months. Among those with household income under $40,000, the figure climbs to 23 percent (vs. 14 percent in the $75,000-plus bracket). But household income is less of a dividing line than age, as you can gather from the chart here. The same poll asked people whether they know anyone who has filed for bankruptcy or gone into foreclosure in the past three months. Twelve percent said they do.

Bankruptcy Filings Up 60 Percent in Arizona

Arizonans filing for bankruptcy up 60 percent

Russ Wiles
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 16, 2007 04:26 PM

Debt-strapped consumers are filing for bankruptcy protection in rising numbers, with the first-half tally in Arizona up nearly 60 percent.

Credit-card debt, higher mortgage payments, costly medical bills and other factors are driving the trend.

Still, bankruptcy filings are well below the record highs seen before a change in applicable laws made it more restrictive to file.

Some 895 applications were filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Arizona in June, the highest monthly total of 2007.

That raised the first-half filing sum for the state to 4,618 from 2,894 in the first half of 2006.

Filings in the Phoenix metro area rose 51 percent in June and were 55 percent higher for the first half, at 3,109.

"A number of people in subprime loans, with adjustable rate mortgages that are resetting, just can't afford to make the new (higher) payments," said Phoenix attorney Diane L. Drain, a bankruptcy expert and governor of the State Bar.

She also cited relatively new federal rules that require customers to make higher minimum payments on credit-card balances each month.

Yet Mike Sullivan, director of education at Phoenix debt-counseling firm Take Charge America, said he doesn't think the trend toward higher minimum payments has been a significant factor pushing people toward bankruptcy.

Rather, he cited the real estate slump and softer home values for removing a safety valve in the form of home-equity loans, which previously could be tapped to pay other debts.

"I'm alarmed by the number of people who are forced to give up (and apply for bankruptcy) because they have fewer options," he said.

Most bankruptcies involve consumers. Chapter 7 filings, which allow for liquidation of non-exempt assets to pay off debts and start fresh, account for more than half the total, but Chapter 13 filings are rising at a faster clip. They involve debt-repayment plans for people with regular income.

A change in bankruptcy laws in 2005 reduced the scope of protection and required consumers to seek credit counseling....

Gambling's Ugly Side - Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy comes about due to many different circumstances. It is common knowledge that gamblers are at a higher risk of bankruptcy than non-gamblers. This story from The Kansan, about personal bankruptcy should be posted at the entrance of every casino:

Bankruptcy can be an ugly side of gambling

PUBLISHED: Saturday, June 23, 2007

By Cristina Janney

Newton Kansan

The therapist tried to reason with the man on the other end of the line. It was Friday night; he had taken his life savings out of the bank and was on his way to a Kansas casino.

Somewhere in the hundreds of words that spilled from her mouth as she attempted to get him to think about gambling his life away, she got through. He turned his car around and came home.

“I didn’t stop talking to him until he was back in his driveway, but there is nothing to say he wasn’t back at the casino the next day,” said the Wichita therapist, who did not wish to give her name to protect the identity of herself and her client.

“If you drink or do meth or cocaine, at some point you are going to pass out or die,” she said. “The harm stops, but that never happens with gambling. I know people who have gone 23 hours without stopping and been $25,000 down. When they reach the point they have no money, they find creative ways to find money. They are chasing the money — chasing their losses.”

For the Over-55 Crowd, Bankruptcies Rise Fastest

Bankruptcies Rise Fastest for Over-55 Group

Older Americans Feeling Effects of Inadequate Savings

By Kathleen Day

Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 27, 2007; Page D03

Personal bankruptcy filings by people 55 and older are growing faster than those by any other age group, in part because of rising mortgage debt and medical expenses among seniors, a study published yesterday concludes...

...The government researchers compared personal bankruptcy records from 1994 with those in 2002. In that time span, personal filings doubled, to more than 1.5 million. The credit industry used that growth to persuade Congress to pass legislation in 2005 that makes it harder for individuals to wipe out debt through bankruptcy...

There is Homeownership After Bankruptcy!

After bankruptcy, it may seem like you will spend years renting before you will ever be able to buy a home again. Not so with a rent-to-own program Here is a sample rent-to-own house ad on a typical classified ad site.

consider a rent-to-own program if you are serious about owning a home again.

Bankruptcy Attorneys Use Internet to Help Clients

With new bankruptcy laws in effect, attorneys are depending on the speed and convenience of the internet to help clients. Often, to stop foreclosures, homeowners will use bankruptcy as a temporary means to save their home. Under the new laws they are required to take a credit counseling course first. To meet these deadlines, attorneys are able to use the internet as a resource for their clients.

Here is an article from WTOPnews.com:

Lawyers Cope With Bankruptcy Law Online

April 20, 2007 - 1:52am

WASHINGTON (AP) - Patrick McMahon, a consumer-bankruptcy lawyer in San Francisco, had only a couple of days to help a client file for bankruptcy to prevent foreclosure on his home.

There was just one problem: a new bankruptcy law that took effect in 2005 obligated the client to take a credit counseling class first. McMahon directed the client to a Web site that offered the class online. The client took it "at midnight," McMahon said. The foreclosure was stopped...