One question I'm often asked is, "How do I know if I should file bankruptcy?"
The purpose of this article is to give you some information that could help you decide and be able to answer that question.
There's nothing worse than trying to live with an overwhelming amount of debt and the problems associated with excessive debt seem to be exaggerated during the holiday season. Many people don't know where to turn or what to do next. Being harassed by a collection agency is extremely stressful and it seems that it's even worse during the holidays. Normally at this time of year we look forward to phone calls from friends and cards in the mail but if you are being pursued by debt collectors you don't want to answer the phone or open your mail.
According to California’s U.S. District Court (
cacb.uscourts.gov), more than 4,200 individuals and businesses filed for bankruptcy in October 2011, this is the most recent statistic available. The year-to-date total of bankruptcy filings for the area is just over 46,000. Although the numbers are down 2.6 percent from 2010, there are still many people who are struggling with the economic downturn and high rates of unemployment, and are wondering if bankruptcy could be the right solution for their problems.
Sometimes people may feel that filing for bankruptcy is like raising the white flag of surrender. Meaning you have lost the battle to keep yourself financially afloat or you are giving up on your responsibility over your finances and surrendering it to the bankruptcy court. Nothing could be further from the truth. Filing for bankruptcy actually means you are taking the bold step to take charge of your debt problems and doing something to stop it.
It may be time to seriously consider filing for bankruptcy if you are in any of the following situations:
1. You have hired debt management companies to look into your finances and help you solve your debt problems with little or no success. This might be for you as an individual or your business. Debt management companies will advise you on debt reducing and debt consolidation methods to ease your debt burden. But sometimes, these strategies do not work as well as you need them to.
2. Your creditors are hot on your heels and getting more persistent by the day. You are getting more notices in the mail, more phone calls, more text messages, more emails etc. And the trend is getting increasingly more disturbing to you and your family. You are not sure when any of your creditors may get mean and send debt collectors knocking on your door.
3. You are under stress. You cannot sleep well at nights, your peace is disrupted, you get headaches, and your health may be impaired. You are constantly anxious and worried and your debt problems are constantly on your mind.
If any of these scenarios describe your situation it may be time to consider filing bankruptcy. This is your right under the law. Bankruptcy protects you from constant harassment of creditors and debt collectors. The moment you file for bankruptcy, your creditors cannot contact you anymore and the debt collectors have to stop.
If you wish to file for bankruptcy, I can help. I also offer a free 30 minute telephone consultation where you can get you specific questions answered and I can help you decide if you should file bankruptcy.