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Elderly Americans Increasingly Seek a Bankruptcy Attorney for Help
by
aavotina
One of the interesting things that the recession has brought to light is the increasing numbers of senior and elderly clients seeking a bankruptcy attorney for assistance. While bankruptcy filings by this segment of the population are not new the rate of senior bankruptcies has increased in the last ten years by over 400%. Many people would assume that this increase is a direct response to the losses in the market and medical emergencies and the specter of a nursing home stay. Surprisingly this is not the main cause. In polling bankruptcy attorneys the main cause of the elderly seeking protection though the courts is massive credit card debt. The average senior debt balance is out of proportion to the general population as on average a senior carries over ten thousand dollars in unsecured debt; this is a 50% increase over the same statistics in 2005. Another point in the increase of bankruptcy filings is that many seniors are not aware of the fact that in most cases retirement savings and social security funds are exempt from creditor garnishment. These factors and the uncertainty of how the bankruptcy courts work is are good reasons why seniors with questions need to contact a local bankruptcy attorney for help. These highly trained professionals can help you navigate the laws related to filing for bankruptcy protection.
One of he first things you would need to do in meeting with a bankruptcy attorney is to itemize your outstanding debts by category. Which debts are secured by an asset such as a house or car loan, which debts are unsecured such as a signature loan or a credit card balance and which debts are public as in taxes owed to state or federal agencies. What you will find in bankruptcy law is that of all debt classes an unsecured debt in a bankruptcy is the easiest to eliminate or manage. The options available to you here are a re-negotiation with the lender to only pay back the balance owed and re-negotiate the interest payments to a more manageable level or to completely eliminate the debt entirely. In many cases the interest on these types of debts can be completely eliminated and you can pay off the balance owed. On primary secured loans the payments can also be negotiated to reflect the amount of real income that is flowing into the individual household. Once accomplished this results in a greatly reduced monthly outflow.
Unfortunately taxes owed to state or government entities, generally speaking, cannot be totally dismissed. There are exceptions to that rule of course but to have a clear definitive answer a consultation with your bankruptcy attorney is needed. Once your debts have been categorized your next step, with your bankruptcy attorneys guidance, is to decide which kind of bankruptcy action to pursue, a chapter 13 re-organization or chapter 7 liquidation. The main difference is a chapter 13 allows you a reduced payment plan, generally over a five year period, to satisfy your creditor. This payment plan is only set in motion after a reduction in debt and reduced interest or elimination of the debt has been negotiated with the lender. A chapter 7 liquidation allows a complete discharge and elimination of all eligible debts.
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Elderly Americans Increasingly Seek a Bankruptcy Attorney for Help