When a homeowner or consumer has fallen behind on home or car payments, they may wonder what to do. The reality is that different personal bankruptcy protections and options may be able to help them with the challenges they face and to hold onto a family home or vehicle they need to get to work every day.
Medical debt leads to bankruptcies
Personal bankruptcy protection is a resource for consumers struggling with overwhelming medical debt to consider. An academic study from earlier this year revealed that 66.5% of bankruptcies were related to medical debt. It is estimated that 530,000 Americans file for bankruptcy annually because of medical bills and medical issues, including the inability to work because of medical concerns. Other reasons consumers turn to personal bankruptcy protection include an inability to pay their mortgage, student loans and other circumstances.
How bankruptcy options help struggling businesses
Bankruptcy options are not just for struggling consumers but extend to struggling businesses as well. Bankruptcy protections can help individuals and businesses that need help with overwhelming debt and to get back on their feet again.
A closer look at the automatic stay during bankruptcy
Personal bankruptcy provides a host of protections for struggling consumers to help them with their debts and to enjoy a fresh financial start. One of these protections is the automatic stay that goes into effect once the filing party has filed for bankruptcy and because of significant protection from creditors it provides, is worth taking a closer look at.
Tennessee leads nation in bankruptcies due to medical debt
Bankruptcy protections can help consumers struggling with medical debt. Tennessee is the leading state in the nation for medical bankruptcies. The director of a Tennessee nonprofit that helps Tennessee families with health care issues noted that some families are having to make the difficult choice between food and medicine. He added that 70% of Tennesseans have some type of medical debt. A new initiative was recently started in Tennessee to help those struggling with crippling medical debt. Overall, the state leads the nation in medical bankruptcies.
The differences between different types of personal bankruptcy
There are two primary types of bankruptcy protection that fall under the umbrella of personal bankruptcy protection. Both provide an opportunity for debt relief and can help the filing party pursue greater financial freedom so those considering personal bankruptcy protection should be familiar with their options.
Bankruptcies down but Tennessee remains number two
Bankruptcy protections can protect consumers and businesses alike, which is why it pays to be familiar with bankruptcy options. According to the American bankruptcy institute, commercial bankruptcies increased last month while personal bankruptcies declined. Total bankruptcy filings dropped by 1 percent while consumer bankruptcy filings dropped by 2 percent. Commercial bankruptcy filings were up 10 percent last month.
How to get through the bankruptcy process
The most important thing for Tennesseans filing for, or considering, personal bankruptcy protection to understand is how the process works. Personal bankruptcy options exist to help struggling consumers who should be as familiar with their options to help them enjoy a fresh financial start as possible.
Bankruptcy may be able to help prevent or stop wage garnishment
Bankruptcy can help with a variety of concerns struggling consumers may have including. One of those concerns is wage garnishment which, in addition to being stressful, can make it more difficult for struggling consumers to repay their debts as they work towards paying their bills and reducing what they owe.
What is the difference between exempt and non-exempt property?
If you have considered filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you may have heard about bankruptcy exemptions and wondered what they refer to. Bankruptcy exemptions are a way of protecting property during the Chapter 7 bankruptcy process and allowing the filing party to keep some of their property following the bankruptcy process.
