When small businesses file for bankruptcy, their owners’ personal assets are typically protected from creditors. The filing typically freezes or erases creditors’ claims on the business’s assets.However, if the owner is liable for the businesses debts, then the...
Birmingham Bankruptcy
Will you lose your home if you file for bankruptcy?
When people file for bankruptcy, they are often able to keep their home. Under most bankruptcy laws, people can protect at least one home worth up to a certain dollar amount.However, if an individual or family owns more than one home, they may not be able to keep the...
The rise of Chapter 7 filings in the last few years
According to federal data, Chapter 7 bankruptcies have risen by more than 40 percent since 2007. This significant rise is likely caused by a number of factors.For instance, the recent economic crisis has led to lower incomes for many people. With these lower incomes,...
Strategies for filing for bankruptcy during divorce
Filing for divorce is a difficult process for most couples. When divorce occurs at the same time as a bankruptcy filing, the process can seem almost impossible.However, there a number of strategies to make the process easier. First, couples should consider file for...
The benefits of a secured credit card
Some people who are recovering from bankruptcy have trouble improving their credit score. One strategy for improvement is to obtain a secured credit card.Secured credit cards are based on collateral in a bank account. In other words, if someone obtains a secured...
The means test for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Given the high number of people filing for Chapter 7, the Bush administration passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act in 2005. The act required people filing for Chapter 7 to pass the “means test.”The means test measures whether a debtor can...
2nd Quarter Bankruptcies Up
Bankruptcies for the second quarter of the year rose from the same period of last year and from the first quarter of this year. In total, there were 381,073 bankruptcy filings by both consumers and businesses throughout the nation.The second quarter filings were a 15%...
Consumer Bankruptcies Up Throughout Nation
July showed a large spike in consumer bankruptcy filings all across the nation. The 126,434 filings came out to a 34.3% increase from July 2008 and an 8.7% increase from June 2009.The American Bankruptcy Institute reported the spike recently, saying that the month...