Topics: Bankruptcy - 55 results

  Roughly 1.4 million people file for bankruptcy per year — primarily because of a job loss or a catastrophic illness, according to Lawyers.com reporter Ed Alpern. Attorney Michael Siegel of Siegel & Siegel in Manhattan says there is nothing immoral about filing for bankruptcy. It’s a federal law and is provided for in the U.S. Constitution. “A person should get a full understanding of their assets, their debt, their income and their expenses — and then they’ll be in …

Discover Defrauds Customers, Must Pay $200 Million You may get calls from credit card companies asking whether you’d like to hear about additional products they offer. If you said yes to a call from Discover between December 2007 and August 2011, you may be in for a little extra cash. Discover has settled deceptive marketing charges brought by the FDIC. The bank was accused of tricking customers into paying for extra credit protection programs. Find Out More…   Avoid Defaulting …

Medical debt is one of the main factors leading to bankruptcy. In fact, it’s a contributing cause in 62 percent of personal bankruptcy filings, according to a 2009 study that appeared in the American Journal of Medicine. Medical debt differs from other forms of consumer debt, since it usually results from something completely unpredictable – an illness or injury. In addition, illness or injury often prevents a person from working and earning income to pay off the bills. Many American …

Yes, You Can Ditch a Student Loan in Bankruptcy It’s an often-repeated mantra: You can’t discharge student loans through bankruptcy. While it’s a reality for most indebted people, the conventional wisdom isn’t quite true. In a seldom-invoked provision, people in extreme circumstances can jettison their student loans if they can prove to a judge they face undue financial hardship. Find Out More…   Famous Athletes Fall Prey to Ponzi Scheme Professional athletes pulling in millions of dollars are wise to …

Owe Back Taxes? The IRS Might Compromise For consumers facing deep tax debt, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. The Internal Revenue Service is liberalizing its “Offer in Compromise” program, which will make it vastly easier to reach a settlement with the government if you are unable to pay off all of your tax debt. Find Out More…   While Olympic Athletes Go for Broke, Families Go Broke Earning an Olympic gold medal takes years …