FAQ Consumer Bankruptcy Questions: Events Leading to Bankruptcy
Many people will never consider bankruptcy because of the stigma attached to it. I have heard war stories of people who lose everything, go hungry, deplete their retirement accounts, sell everything thing own, only to attempt to keep paying numerous creditors on an insurmountable amount of debt over a seemingly never ending period of time. Their PRIDE gets in the way of common sense.I have been practicing bankruptcy for almost 10 years. I always tell my clients that to achieve greatness, sometimes it involves risk. Financial risk. Also, sometimes unforeseen events happen beyond our control. The Bankruptcy Code is a legislative scheme based on forgiveness and providing a fresh start.I wanted to write a blog post on events that may happen that would lead a person to consider filing for bankruptcy:
- loss of job
- medical expenses
- death, divorce or legal separation
- small business failure (my niche)
- home foreclosure
- inability to pay outstanding taxes
- inability to pay unmanageable credit card debt
If any of these things have happened to you and you want to evaluate your options, contact a bankruptcy lawyer before you make hasty, unwise decisions, like draining your 401k or letting your home be sold in foreclosure or dumping thousands and thousands of personal dollars into a losing business venture. I have seen it happen all too often. Make informed decisions before it is too late. Let's go of that PRIDE.The same sentiment goes for business owners who now face bankruptcy (but that can be the subject matter of another blog post).