Medical problems, even when you have insurance, are an increasingly large cause of bankruptcy cases.  Some groups are trying to help folks with poor or non-existent coverage to get care.  The events are being set-up — and attended — like rock concerts.
One organization setting up large events with volunteer medical staff and doctors on hand [...]

Americans tend to move a lot.    When the economy is in distress, folks often move out of state in search of work or lower cost of living.  If you filed bankruptcy, do you have to stay put while the case is going on?  Does your case have to move to another court?
The answer is pretty [...]

Chapter 13 bankruptcy provides a powerful tool  — You can provide for special treatment of co-signed debt, allowing it to be paid more than other similar creditors.  In this way, you can “protect” your co-signer from having to repay part or all of the debt you incurred with their help.
But what happens when you owe [...]

Sometimes the bank forgets to file the paperwork to put a lien on a car’s certificate of title when they make a car loan.   Does that mean you don’t owe the money?  Or if you file bankruptcy, you get the car for free?
Usually it’s not so simple.  When you take out a loan on a [...]

In the last few years, payday lenders have grown on the Internet.  Are you setting yourself up for identity theft problems?
It’s a common-enough scenario these days:  You are looking for a quick, small loan and the Internet seems to make it really easy.  Just log-in to a friendly website, plug in your  personal information and [...]

A regular question we hear from folks comes in two flavors:

Do I have to be current on my bills in order to file bankruptcy?

How far behind do I have to be to file bankruptcy?

The simple answer is that you need to be in debt to consider bankruptcy but where you are in your payment cycle [...]

In Chapter 13, a consumer can reduce how much is repaid on an automobile under certain circumstances.  But the law limits that reduction, called a “cramdown” where the car was purchased with the loan money within the last 2 1/2 years if the car was bought “for the personal use of the Debtor.”
Note, you have [...]

Have you ever quit Bally’s Total Fitness?  If so, you might be getting an invitation to re-join.  The “invitation” comes in the form of a bill that looks a lot like a demand for payment of a past due bill.
In fact, it is a bill.  For “past due” amounts.   On the back of the statements, [...]

In yesterday’s review of the Briesch study of debt settlement’s benefits to consumers, I analyzed its defense of the industry’s fees.
Today, we will look at some of the data and the way it is put to use in the study.
Assoc. Prof. Richard Briesch used a sampling of 4,500 client records from one debt settlement [...]

A study of one debt settlement company’s results indicates that employing them is not really a bad idea compared to traditional credit counseling or paying off your debts.  The study mostly treated bankruptcy as a failure, not an option.
Almost every industry that is facing public controversy  or legislation (or currying legislative favor) that will change [...]