Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Is Bankruptcy Really a Fresh Start?
Congress enacted the Bankruptcy Code for just this purpose. This legal debt relief program eliminates burdensome unsecured debts, like credit card bills, and gives debtors a chance to catch up on past-due secured debt payments, like home mortgage payments. However, bankruptcy isn’t a magic wand that reverses financial fortunes. Unless debtors have an exit… Read More »
Why Do People File Bankruptcy?
Quite simply, people file bankruptcy because they owe more money than they can pay, and they need a fresh start. This fresh start is available to honest yet unfortunate debtors. Honest debtors complete paperwork accurately, are forthcoming about all their debts and assets, fully cooperate with trustees (people who supervise bankruptcies for judges), and… Read More »
What is the Best Bankruptcy for Seniors?
As outlined below, the best bankruptcy for seniors usually depends on the type of debt the senior has. Before the mid 1990s, almost no one asked this question, because almost no senior adults filed bankruptcy. However, the filing rate for the over-55 demographic has increased over 60 percent since 1991, even as the overall… Read More »
What Happens with Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?
Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which is also known as a liquidation bankruptcy, discharges most unsecured debts, such as medical bills and credit cards. According to the Bankruptcy Code, a discharge “releases the debtor from personal liability for certain specified types of debts.” In plain English, discharge eliminates the legal obligation to pay a debt, but… Read More »
Is Debt Settlement a Good Idea?
If you have more debts than you can comfortably pay and a bad case of bankruptcy-phobia, then yes, debt settlement is usually a good idea. Generally, if unsecured debt payments, like credit card payments, exceed 15 percent of your gross income, that debt is difficult or impossible to repay. As for bankruptcy-phobia, many people… Read More »
How Soon Can I Buy a House After I File Bankruptcy?
By the book, most people can buy a house between two and four years after they file bankruptcy. These waiting periods are Fannie Mae standard waiting periods. The exact length depends on the type of loan, type of bankruptcy filing, and a few other factors. Waiting the required number of months isn’t enough. Prospective… Read More »
A Quick Guide to Bankruptcy and Government Benefits
This guide will be quick because, in most cases, government benefits are 100 percent exempt in Illinois bankruptcies. Furthermore, the Automatic Stay also extends to government benefits. The trustee (person who oversees a bankruptcy for a judge) cannot seize an exempt asset, like government benefits or a retirement account, and liquidate it to pay… Read More »
What Will Disqualify You from a Security Clearance?
Contrary to popular myth, filing bankruptcy doesn’t disqualify you from a security clearance. Such bankruptcy filing discrimination is illegal under federal law. In fact, the opposite is usually true. Although the underlying debt problems that force most people to file bankruptcy could disqualify you from a security clearance, filing bankruptcy often convinces authorities that… Read More »
Do I Lose My Car if I File for Bankruptcy?
No, in most cases. The Bankruptcy Code, which gives honest yet unfortunate debtors a fresh start, recognizes that people need cars to work, go to school, run essential errands, and otherwise live from day to day. Illinois’ bankruptcy exemptions recognize this fact as well. So, in most cases, you don’t lose your car if… Read More »
Are Student Loans Being Forgiven in Bankruptcies?
Yes, student loans are being forgiven in bankruptcies, partially because, in 2024, former President Joe Biden undid a mistake he made some twenty years earlier. In 2005, then-Senator Biden led the charge to end some of the last bankruptcy protections for student loan debtors, primarily those who had private student loan debt related to… Read More »