Bankruptcy, foreclosure, unemployment – all of these have captured headlines in recent months. One area of financial hardship I deal with every day, but one you don’t see much of in the press, is automobile repossessions. Make no mistake, though Read More
Payday loans are moving into better neighborhoods, but, believe me, they’re not any better an idea than they ever were. Elizabeth Warren, Harvard law professor who serves on the congressional panel for the U.S. financial bailout, agrees. "More middle class Read More
In Anderson, Indiana, where one of my four bankruptcy law offices is located, a new restaurant is opening, I hear, called Bickel’s Uptown Café. That’s a cheerful note for Anderson, which has been especially hard hit with the economic downturn Read More
No question about it – job loss is one of the main causes of bankruptcy. Indiana has had more than its share of employment upheavals, and that’s the reason I find it important, as a bankruptcy attorney in Indiana, to Read More
Business bankruptcies come in different shapes and sizes. An Associated Press article talked about the conditions attached to the loans our government is making to GM and Chrysler being very much like a restructuring typical of a bankruptcy, even though Read More
Back last summer, my banker friend in Portland, Oregon had told me about a young entrepreneur custom home builder. This gentleman, who’d been recognized in the press as owning one of the Top Ten Fastest Growing Companies in his area, Read More
"This is good, this is good", Associated Press quoted president O’Bama as saying, referring to the bill he just signed expanding health insurance for children. The State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, now covers approximately 7 million children. The Read More
As doctors and pharmaceutical companies well know, even medicines that are very effective in helping many patients, don’t work for every patient. The National Institute of Health tells us many people who lose weight gain it back within the next Read More
If you’re behind on your income taxes in a big way, the IRS might have an offer you can’t refuse – or, maybe you can! The IRS Offer of Compromise program allows some taxpayers to settle their tax liability for Read More
Can bankruptcy help when the creditor is none other than Uncle Sam? When it comes to tax debt, make that a definite "Yes, but…". There are five conditions that must be met in order for income tax debt to be Read More
One of the goals of this bankruptcy blog is to debunk myths, and one of the biggest myths is that, for ten years following bankruptcy, you will not be able to borrow money at all – not for a car Read More
U. S. government law provides special protection for members of the military who are in debt. In my earlier blog, "Putting Off Debt Problems For Families Of Service Members", I talked about SCRA, the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act. That law Read More