Drain a 401(k) to deal with debt? Bankruptcy may be better option
People who are struggling with debt often consider taking some money out of their retirement accounts in order to keep creditors at bay. Debtors often believe they must do everything they can to pay their bills now, even at the cost of raiding their retirement funds. To a degree, this is understandable, especially if creditors […]
Don’t Be Afraid of Bankruptcy
Filing for bankruptcy is never an easy decision. Most of us see it as a last resort to all of our financial troubles and the coward’s way out. This is absolutely untrue. Bankruptcy is nothing to be ashamed of and it happens more often than you know. Approximately 1 out of every 212 people in […]
With chapter 7 bankruptcy: being down doesn’t mean you’re out
A key challenge that many people must overcome in deciding to file for bankruptcy is simply admitting the need for it. When you’re struggling to pay your bills, it’s easy to get down psychologically. This is a problem for many people in the San Antonio area and across the country. But before you beat yourself […]
When debt collectors go too far: a Texas case on calls at work
Debt collectors do not get to do whatever they want. Federal and state laws limit what they are allowed to do. Nationally, of course, the key law is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). In the San Antonio area and across the nation, people who are struggling with debt are supposed to be protected […]
Bankruptcy filing: how to overcome your own mental resistance
The need for meaningful relief from credit card debt is an issue we continue to follow closely in this blog. As we discussed in our May 10 post, consumers have been cutting down recently on the amount of debt they are taking on. But problems with credit card still plague many people in San Antonio […]
For many grads, overwhelming problems with student loan debt
For decades, the middle class has bought into a promise that is a basic premise of American life. Studying hard and staying in school is supposed to pay off. Even if individuals and families have to borrow tens of thousands to do it, there is supposed to be a good job on the other end […]
Are inherited retirement accounts protected in bankruptcy?
One of the key questions in a bankruptcy proceeding is exempt vs. non-exempt assets. And one of issues that can come up there is whether individual retirement accounts that someone has inherited should be considered exempt assets — and therefore beyond the reach of someone’s bankruptcy creditors. Federal courts have not agreed on how this […]
For medical bills, payday loans are the opposite of debt relief
Medical bills can hit you like a ton of bricks. Even people with health insurance can suddenly find themselves owing more than they imagined – because taking on that debt it seemed like the only way to get the care they or a family member desperately needed. In the San Antonio area and throughout the […]
Bankruptcy audit program suspended indefinitely
When Congress revised the nation’s bankruptcy laws in 2005, there were concerns it could become more difficult to file for bankruptcy. Fortunately, that has not been the case for most people interested in fling. The 2005 law did add a few additional hoops to jump through. Overall, though, bankruptcy remains a very useful strategy in […]
Seeking to discharge, not swallow, the bitter pill of medical debt
Three years after the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), medical debt remains the biggest cause of bankruptcy. A year ago, U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law. Yet the insurance overhaul it requires has still not fully taken effect. And meanwhile, 49 million Americans remain without health insurance. Given the scandalously high cost of […]