“The US health care financing system is broken, and not only for the poor and uninsured”  According to a recent study in The American Journal of Medicine, middle-class families are collapsing under the strain of “a health care system that treats physical wounds, but often inflicts fiscal ones”.
The study, (http://pnhp.org/new_bankruptcy_study/Bankruptcy-2009.pdf) claims that 62.1% of all bankruptcies filed [...]

Six of the 10 cities where wages have fallen the fastest this year are in New York.  Average wages fell dramatically in Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, New York, Poughkeepsie and Buffalo – and the decline has been devastating on New York State’s finances, according to a study released last week from the Brookings Institution.
It is unusual, [...]

“I don’t want to file bankruptcy on my house!”  “I don’t want to file bankruptcy on my car!”  “I owe my mom some money but I don’t want to file bankruptcy on her!”
Every bankruptcy attorney practicing in this country has heard these phrases or variations of them.  The client wants to keep his home so he thinks [...]

Congress is considering proposals that would reform the health care system.  Some, like Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont are citing massive fraud by the health care industry and calling on “real health care reform to prevent major insurance companies, drug companies and hospital chains from perpetrating fraud and abuse on government health care programs and individuals.”  Sanders [...]

You don’t have to put up with harassing phone calls from bill collectors.  In 2008 alone, over 78,000 consumers filed complaints with the Federal Trade Commission.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (”FDCPA”) sets restrictions on how creditors can attempt to collect debts.  The Federal Trade Commission enforces the FDCPA, and has stated that debt collectors [...]

Although filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy usually wipes the slate clean as far as most of your debts are concerned, there are some debts that may not be discharged. 
Certain debts, such as most taxes, child or spousal support, and student loans usually survive the Chapter 7 discharge.  Debts incurred through fraud, may also survive the discharge.  And in [...]

When you file for bankruptcy you are required to file certain documents – your bankruptcy petition, bankruptcy schedules, and a host of other papers. These papers must all be completed accurately, honestly and completely.
You do not get the option of filing blank forms “just for now.” If you do, the bankruptcy trustee or [...]

A credit default swap is a kind of insurance.  It’s also like a ticket for a bet on a horse race — a bet on which horse will lose.
A CDS is a simple idea.  In its most basic, safe form, it’s a way to hedge the risk of a loan failing.   If a bank loans [...]

This online article provides an interesting 7-step “how to” handle the emotional implications of debt:

Acknowledge that you are in debt and in over your head.
Forgive yourself and focus on repaying.
Understand how you got here so that you do not return in the future.
Make a plan to break the overspending habit.
Do not make the problem worse [...]

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett’s office released information regarding credit-related scams.  “Consumers searching for an easy way out of their credit problems are susceptible to a wide range of credit-related scams in addition to credit repair fraud,” the PA Attorney General’s office states.  Some examples provided are as follows:
Checking Account Scams
One of the latest scams [...]