The North Carolina Bankruptcy Information Blog

Need to file bankruptcy or think you might? Then, you will be interested in this.

The Law Offices of John T. Orcutt is offering to get people filed for “$0 Money Down”. That’s right, “$0 Money-Down”. No upfront fees. No upfront costs.

Just for the record, this is not a loan and “no credit is needed” because this plan pulls on the power of Chapter 13 of the U.S. Federal Bankruptcy Code. Chapter 13 is one of the 2 major chapters of the Bankruptcy Code under which most consumers generally file.

If filing bankruptcy is right for you and if you qualify for “$0 Money-Down” (and lots of people can), you can get your bankruptcy case filed for “$0 Money-Down”.…

Hiring a bankruptcy attorney is your best first step toward a refreshed, healthy financial future. The decision can be a tough one, we know.
Once on track to file though, we’ll clear the path for you, assisting at every step and consistently communicating. There are a number of things you can do along the way, too. Many of which are quite simple but go a long way toward ensuring your next “economic life,” as it were, is as productive as possible.

You’ll also want to keep a keen eye on your credit reports after you file. Make sure the accounts that were discharged are recorded that way.…

Are you feeling too broke to break out of debt? Too often, Americans just like you, already suffering under the intense strain of rising mortgage costs, consistent credit card debt, mounting medical bills, employment woes, and other blights on their bank accounts, are also suffering under the misconception that an experienced bankruptcy attorney is, for them, financially out of reach.

Well, it’s finally time to halt the hesitation, dismiss the deterrents, and suffer no more; because, in fact, the opposite can be true in the world of bankruptcy law. Days, weeks, and months wasted without speaking to a qualified bankruptcy expert like those at The Law Offices of John T.…

A number of good things have emerged from the economic situation of the last several years. Recently enacted credit card reform will hopefully change the way we are treated by the industry responsible for so much of our country’s collective personal debt.

Mortgage modification, even with all its warts and scars, should eventually become an industry with real benefits to struggling homeowners. The quick roll out of federal plans and the pressure on banks to quickly create similar programs obviously led to a lot of frustrations. Still, when things iron themselves out, consumers stand to benefit.

Another recent instance of positive regulation has stemmed from the offices of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).…

While many economists say this decade’s Great Recession ended in the middle of 2009, millions of struggling Americans who are still working hard to find meaningful employment would definitely disagree. And as we are all now well aware, the once thriving middle class is being hit especially hard—with a determination of whether you’re in a recession or recovery based largely on where you live and if you still have a job.

In the new year, the unemployment rate has, in fact, dropped incrementally from its staggering 10 percent highs in December 2009 to 9.7 percent, a small diminishment in the stats that some say exists because the long-term unemployed—the men and women out of work more than six months—have simply stopped looking for work.…

Bankruptcy is one of the most important decisions you may ever have to make. It’s not a decision to take lightly, and our office understands that you and your family have a lot of questions. While many of the same laws apply to many cases, rarely is your financial situation the same as another person’s. We all have different reasons for needing to rely on the bankruptcy code and just about every reason is as justifiable as the next.

To assist you in the most direct and non-invasive method possible, we have created three communication vehicles by which you can begin to explore why bankruptcy may be your best way out from under an impending financial crisis.…

The latest chapter in the Obama administration’s attempts to make lenders modify mortgages is to send SWAT teams – no, I’m not kidding, really, SWAT teams – into the call centers of major lenders to try to ensure that they follow the proper procedures and actually modify loans. Seriously, wouldn’t it be a whole lot easier just to pass cramdown and allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages than to try to sweet talk, bribe or otherwise convince bankers to do it on their own?

Because they’re not. Making Homes Affordable, the program implemented by the government last May, is designed to encourage banks to modify the loans of homeowners who are having trouble making mortgage payments.…

Is there any way to lower your car payments in bankruptcy? The answer, which may surprise you, is maybe. While Congress recently rejected attempts to pass a law that would allow bankruptcy judges to ‘cramdown’ mortgages, there do exist some limited possibilities for revising auto loans.

Basically, debtors who owe more than their car is worth – and who doesn’t, especially if you bought it new? – may be eligible to eliminate the portion of the debt that exceeds the value. In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the debt would be divided into ‘secured’ debt (the value of the car) and ‘unsecured’ debt (the excess money on the loan), and the car loan would be revised to repay only the secured portion.…

The New Year is a few days away. And without doubt, millions of Americans will welcome 2010 with grand hope, desperate to put 2009 far behind them, the year the Great Recession took hold of our collars and shook us into submission. Unfortunately, many Americans will greet the end of the 2000′s first decade still in debt and financially directionless.

But that doesn’t have to be the case.

Bankruptcy, despite all you may think you know about it, can make 2010 the year you really start over, the year things become as you make them, the year you regain control.

The federal government is reporting that with 2009′s end, so goes the worst national economic era to strike the 50 states in decades.…

If you are considering filing for bankruptcy protection but are reluctant to hire an attorney to help you with the process, there might be a couple of explanations. Maybe you are feeling a little bit embarrassed about your situation and are none too eager to spill your troubles to a stranger. This is understandable but it shouldn’t hold you back; a bankruptcy attorney is like a doctor for your financial health, and there is no need to be embarrassed when you talk to a doctor.  If it’s not embarrassment or even sheer inertia holding you back, it’s easy to hazard a guess about another source of worry: attorney’s fees.…

The four-year anniversary of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) is right around the corner. You might recall all the hype in the months leading up to the enactment of BAPCPA. This was the banking and credit industry’s seventh attempt to get the legislation on the books. They pitched BAPCPA as necessary to curb “rampant abuse” and to restore “personal responsibility and integrity” in the bankruptcy process. With the Bush Administration at the helm of a Congress chock full of conservative lawmakers, the banks and credit card companies finally clinched a large enough sympathetic audience to bring its agenda to life.…

When your debt problems get to be more than you can handle, an experienced bankruptcy attorney can be a real life-saver. Financial problems can split up spouses, fracture families, and generate a vicious cycle of stress that leads to greater financial problems that in turn lead to more stress–and so on, and so on. It’s important to know about bankruptcy and how the process can help you recover your life, but how will it work exactly? Every case is different, but the role of the attorney will be similar in each case, and understanding what a good bankruptcy attorney can do for you may help you understand how powerful bankruptcy law can be.…

Are you hopelessly behind on your mortgage payments and wondering what to do about it? People in your shoes typically do one of three things: (1) try to convince the bank to just take whatever the property can fetch on the market (a “short sale”); (2) just let the bank foreclose; or (3) file bankruptcy.

Many people see filing bankruptcy as the “last-resort” of these alternatives. This is a mistake. Being seriously delinquent on your mortgage carries significant, long term risks that run far deeper than just losing your home. In many cases, filing bankruptcy will actually be the best and most efficient way to manage these risks and get past this difficult episode in your life.…

In an ironic twist of fate, a company’s whose claim to fame was helping people “avoid bankruptcy” has invoked bankruptcy protection itself. Debt Relief USA, a credit counseling agency based in Texas, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 18th. And it shut down all operations. According to its bankruptcy petition, DRU is currently saddled with $5 million in debt and has only $4.65 million in assets. At the same time, the company’s business practices are under investigation by state and federal authorities.

On June 24th, the bankruptcy court converted DRU’s filing to a Chapter 7 case. In other words, the company will be liquidated.…

So it’s more than half way through the year now. You might be wondering how things are looking in the economy. Last year, many had predicted that the downturn would continue through the first quarter of 2009, but then we’d start to see stabilization in the second quarter and maybe even a return to growth by the summer. Well, we’re already into the third quarter, and a turnaround is still nowhere sight. The three major indicators of the economy’s condition are the rates of unemployment, bankruptcy filings, and home foreclosures. Here’s the rundown on those numbers, and it’s not pretty.

The overall unemployment rate was 9.1 percent at the end of May.…

So let’s say you run into some financial troubles. You meet with a bankruptcy attorney to discuss your options. You’re thinking that, if you’re going to file, you should try to refinance your mortgage first to lower the payments and ease some of the pressure. You’re also thinking you might want to go ahead and replace that old clunker with a reliable car to make sure you won’t have a problem getting to work during your bankruptcy case. And let’s say the attorney agrees with you. Can he tell you that? It seems like the answer should be obvious. After all, he’s a bankruptcy attorney.…

Bernie Kosar is a household name, known for his star football career during the 1980s and 1990s. Kosar quarterbacked for the University of Miami and led the team to its first national championship in 1984. After college, Kosar jumped right into the NFL and played as a successful quarterback for the next 12 seasons. Kosar spent most of those years with the Cleveland Browns, from 1985 to 1993, where he became a favorite of team fans. In fact, Browns fans were enraged when former coach Bill Belichick replaced Kosar with Vinny Testaverde; soon thereafter, Belichick was replaced himself.

Kosar went on to play for the Dallas Cowboys, and is credited with helping them win an NFC championship against the San Francisco Giants.…

We have put a lot on the blog about how your home can be affected by bankruptcy. Hopefully, you’ve read through some of those posts. If not, simply do a search to find as much as you can about the topic because knowing how bankruptcy affects where you lay your head down at night can be very helpful to you and your family.

To continue on the topic, let’s talk about the Homestead Exemption. It can be a little confusing and this post will touch on the general aspects of it and the specifics can (and should) be left for your face-to-face meeting with one of our attorneys.…

Many people delay filing for bankruptcy or decide not to hire a bankruptcy attorney solely because they believe they can’t afford it. If you’re considering filing for bankruptcy, money is obviously tight. You may be thinking that it doesn’t make sense to try to solve debt problems by spending more money. However, if you are in serious financial trouble and have no way of getting out, a bankruptcy may very well be a necessity. And if you need to file for bankruptcy, you definitely need a competent bankruptcy attorney who understands the new law and how to best provide for your fresh start.…

Your “Golden Years” are supposed to be the best time of your life. You shouldn’t be worrying about bills, going to work, or holding an “upside-down” mortgage. These years are supposed to be the fruit of your life’s labor, and you should be able to enjoy them – or least not have to juggle the kinds of responsibilities and concerns you did in your 20’s and 30’s. Until recently, with a modest amount of planning and investment toward retirement, this was a reachable goal for most Americans.

Sadly, the economic conditions of the last 10 to 15 years have increasingly strained the budgets of seniors.…