The North Carolina Bankruptcy Information Blog

Since the real estate reckoning of 2007 launched what would become a global economic meltdown, average Americans just like you have been taking advantage of the sure-fire safe havens of personal bankruptcy. But part of successfully joining the more than 1.5 million people who will file in 2011, is planning for life following the fruition of that bankruptcy.

In fact, with so many people facing income deficiencies due to underemployment or unemployment in 2011, it’s work revisiting the best advice for an effective bankruptcy. Here’s part two of a two-part series picking up where we left off with the TOP TEN tips for making a 2011 bankruptcy work for you:

(6) Calling All Lenders.…

If you’re like so many Americans experiencing tough economic times, you may feel completely overwhelmed by your current financial situation and unsure as to what options actually exist to alleviate it. Maybe you’ve been unable to modify your mortgage, hit with the costs of an unexpected medical situation, dealing with high interest credit cards or are navigating through the pitfalls of unemployment or underemployment with little understanding of how to pull yourself out of the subsequent a financial hole.

At times like these it’s often important to get “back to the basics,” separating fact from fiction in order to make an informed decision that can get you back on track for a better financial future.…

After a recent bankruptcy you may be feeling the need to build your credit “credibility.” While it’s always important to understand the perils of plastic—the reason many average Americans choose bankruptcy in the first place—it’s also important for a better financial future to show creditors that you can successfully manage that type of debt.

Even qualifying for an initial credit limit of $1000 is a good place to start for a newly-discharged debtor, assuming a few conditions are met, including:

(1) You are Pre-Approved for a Credit Card
Qualifying for the a credit card is a little like going to the prom…it always feels better the more you are asked.…

We know what you’re thinking.

Another stressful tax season has officially come and gone, and you’re either expecting a well-deserved refund or you owe an obligatory amount to the Internal Revenue Service.

Regardless, we understand you’d rather not think about (or, at least read about) anything regarding taxes, tax time, or the financial implications of this taxing period. But, trust us, it’s worth taking a gander at the following, as the end of tax season means the beginning of many a tax scam that might cost you more money (and time) than any IRS tab.

The Internal Revenue Service has now issued a statement warning average Americans just like you about how to spot and solve identity theft issues that stem from your recent tax filing.…

Apparently the lingering economic malaise has its limits: according to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy added 216,000 new jobs last month. This good news appears to support recent claims that the labor market recovery, as Bloomberg put it, is finally “gaining traction”.

But according to a new report from The Huffington Post, those who have been lucky enough to find work, any work, are also often finding their former standard of living to be completely out of reach. “While the recovery of the labor market and the broader U.S. economy depend critically on job growth, equally important is the quality of those jobs.…

In this additional online accompaniment to the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt website, we strive to cover much of the latest bankruptcy news as well as offer an insider’s guide of the ins and outs of the bankruptcy process. This includes a wealth of pre-bankruptcy considerations, a look at the intricacies of a bankruptcy filing, and sure-fire post-bankruptcy steps to get you back on the road to more financially-rewarding future.

But if you’re considering the benefits of bankruptcy for the very first time, there’s never been a better opportunity to get back to basics, with a simple overview of common bankruptcy law terminology that’s helpful to make any filing seem less daunting or confusing.…

When asked in a recent interview by Anna Robertson of Yahoo! News what he had to say to America’s 14.5 million unemployed, the Vice President Joe Biden responded, “hang in there.” Pointing to a slow and gradual national recovery, Biden said that while the unemployment rate is only “dropping minimally,” the economy is slowly improving, leaving Americans to wait it out. “A significant portion of the companies out there … are saying now that they’re gonna begin to hire this year,” he said. “The message is hang in there, things are coming back.”

While millions of hopeful men and women attempt to heed the Vice President’s advice and wait for things to return to pre-recessionary “normality,” the realities of the current economic malaise are bleaker.…

While some experts are calling the latter portions of 2010 a new era of economic recovery, bankruptcy filings remain in true recession-era form.  In fact, according to the 2010 Fiscal Year statistics from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the number of bankruptcies filed between October 1, 2009 and September 30, 2010 increased from 1,402,816 to 1,596,355, marking an increase of 13.8%. And even though Chapter 11 (business and large individual) filings decreased, from 14,745 to 14,191, a 3.8% drop, and business filings overall also went down, from 58,721 last year to 58,322 this year, a 0.7% decrease, non-business or personal filings went up under all other chapters of the Bankruptcy Code, rising from 1,344,095 to 1,538,033, or 14.4%.…

Our recent, and lingering, economic recession has left many average Americans wondering how to keep their heads above the proverbial financial water. In a recent (and timely) article from AOL’s DailyFinance entitled, “Mired in Debt? Here’s How to Dig Out Safely,” the financial resources site discusses just that: strategies for success when trying to dig yourself out of mountains of debt.

In it, we’re able to take a closer look at debt settlement firms, one option many average Americans are turning to in these tough economic times—and an option that is leaving many with second thoughts about using this service ever again.…

Serious debt happens to most people before they realize it. Even though it’s always there, only when the income stops do the debt obligations get really noticed. And in a recession like the one that has plagued our country for the last three years, loss of income is a common thing.

Bankruptcy can serve as a lifeline for those who finally reach the point where decisions have to be made about which bills get paid. Lately, it seems as if a lot of people are choosing their credit cards and utilities over their mortgages, as “strategic defaults”—people purposely not paying their mortgage—are on the rise.…

A recent insurance company survey highlights the fact that a large percentage of Americans are not financially prepared for a sudden loss of employment. Saving an “emergency fund”, as the financial advice columnists and radio show hosts like to call it, is far easier talked about during afternoon drive time than done. Heck, it’s the emergencies that pop up while trying to save for an emergency that prevent us from being able to squirrel away enough cash to prepare for the worst. Have a few hundred bucks to put away? Oops, there go the brakes on the minivan.

MetLife’s report shows that close to half of all Americans would be unable to pay their bills if they lose their job.…

One thing you may already know about most court proceedings, is that parties usually have the option to represent themselves without the aid of an attorney. This is called appearing ‘Pro Se’, which, in Latin means “for oneself”. In a bankruptcy proceeding, when money is tight, the thought of saving money by cutting out attorneys and their fees can be pretty tempting. But there are many reasons this is a bad idea.

Bankruptcy can be complicated and bankruptcy judges are a picky bunch. They expect that the preparation of the voluntary petition, schedules, or other documents will be done accurately and on time.…

This blog talks at length about savings strategies and offers a great deal of consumer spending advice. Our goal is to create an all-encompassing approach to helping readers, clients and potential clients be financially successful after bankruptcy.

Having a healthy savings account should be the goal of anyone rebuilding after bankruptcy. But after the great bank fallout of the last two years, it’s becoming hard for a lot Americans to trust some of our nation’s largest financial institutions. Not only are the rate of return on these accounts very low, it seems every day banks are surprising account holders with a sudden fee or reduction in service.…

Are you feeling too broke to break out of debt? For those ready to end the cycle of debt, it is important to understand that bankruptcy is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and bankruptcy filings are complex cases catering to your individual economic needs.

Bankruptcy, like so many areas of the law, is in a constant state of evolution, having been refined and redefined over the decades and through several important pieces of legislation. The first major bankruptcy legislation since the Chandler Act of 1938— Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978—brought some of the most significant changes to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Within this Act, there were a host of important changes that the Act brought to the U.S.…

Before you begin the bankruptcy process, it’s important to understand a few helpful hints to make it a more painless process:

(1) Remember: You are not Alone.
Maybe you think of bankruptcy as something for “other people.” But the days of bankruptcy as a means of financial respite for the perpetually poor are no more: everyone from the solidly middle class to formerly wealthy Americans are being forced into bankruptcy more than ever before. Because of steady declines in real estate values, and rises in health care costs, credit card interest and unemployment in all sectors, more than 8% of bankruptcy filings in 2009 came from people who made over $60,000.…

While many economists argue that the economy is steadily rebounding, whether you’re in a recession or recovery seems to largely depend on where you live, if you have a job, if you can pay your bills, or if you still have your home.

The Huffington Post reported this week that facing an economic meltdown in their personal lives, many formerly middle-class families have had to find “creative ways to cope with the sudden loss of their jobs and homes.” In her article, “Rattlesnake for Breakfast, Wedding rings on Craigslist: Families Cope With Falling Out of the Middle Class,” Laura Bassett describes how the American dream, for many, has turned into a surreal nightmare.…

If you couldn’t tell by the utter onslaught of tax preparation service ads and the sudden presence of temporary cubicles in that once abandoned retail space at the corner of your favorite strip mall, let us be the first to remind you that it’s tax season.

We take interest in this time of year because tax returns can mean one of two things to our readers: more debt or more money. Since we are all about helping you figure out what to do with your debt, we hope this post will educate you regarding what tax season can mean for your financial well-being.

There are number of tax deductions out there that get ignored by a lot of families.…

There is so much we do not know about the things that put us into debt. From credit card fine print to car lease agreements and as the last few years have demonstrated, even the most basic facts about our home loans.

To anyone with the ability to fog a glass, it is more than evident that our collective ignorance on these matters is precisely what causes our country to carry so much personal debt. And despite the government’s best effort, whether in credit card reform or mortgage assistance programs, the only way to solve our financial problems is for the American consumer to educate itself as to the practices, jargon and bureaucracy that obfuscate the critical, debt-inducing rules of credit and loan products.…

Creditors around the country probably still secretly wish that Debtor’s Prison still existed so that they could send all the people that do not pay their bills there. Thankfully, the founding fathers had the foresight to do away with such an antiquated notion back when the country was formed and even provide the foundation for the bankruptcy laws that we now have today.

Little do most people know but the founding fathers were not the best at managing their own finances as they were in managing a war for independence. After all, these people did dump thousands upon thousands of dollars in tea into Boston Harbor!…

We can’t stress enough the value of bankruptcy for those who truly need it. Hey, it’s no secret that our business is to help people correctly file and emerge from bankruptcy with a more positive approach to their finances. The truth is that without dependable legal assistance, many Americans would face a very difficult and extremely creditor-centric bankruptcy process.

Need evidence? Just look at 2005′s Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, which was conceptualized and heavily backed by the lending industry to ensure they re-gained an upper hand in bankruptcy court. Despite the prevalence of consumer debt problems, compounded by a faltering economy, many Americans operate under several misconceptions about bankruptcy that can often prevent or at least delay the decision to file.…