Bankruptcy Chapter 7 Indiana

As I've emphasized often before in Bankruptcy in Indiana, it's really all about jobs. Whether it's qualifying to file under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana, or whether it's getting back on one's financial feet after filing bankruptcy Chapter 7 in Indiana, it comes down to having income to keep the bills paid. That's why it's been so important for me, as a debt consolidation lawyer, to keep my clients and readers updated on the employment situation in our state.

• Ports, I'm learning, are helping a lot.  A new study I read about in Inside Indiana Business suggests that Indiana's three ports contribute $5.4 billion to Indiana's economy each year, accounting for more than 43,500 jobs. To me that says clients will have a better chance to successfully emerge from personal bankruptcy in Indiana.
  
   
• Solar panels are helping, too. Fort Recovery Construction & Equipment is expanding its SolarAg division, creating up to 120 new jobs in the next three years. To me that means clients who've filed small business banakruptcy in Indiana will have a better chance at getting business back on its feet.
   
• Green is good. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is awarding $500,000 in grants to create hundreds of new "green" jobs. With the "ripple effect" that can have, that could help stop foreclosure in many cases, and help clients make a fresh financial start after filing individual bankruptcy in Indiana.
   
• Parking helps.  Dallas-based ACS will operate Indianapolis' public parking system, and that will create 200 new jobs, according to Mayor Greg Ballard.

While the four Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices are in Indiana's Southern District, including the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who help serve the entire southern part of the state, I'm always interested in news from every part of the state. As an attorney who's provided Indiana bankruptcy help to tens of thousands of individuals and families, including those filing small business bankruptcy in Indiana, I know how the economy in one part of the state, and even the economy of neighboring states, affects jobs in the Southern District.

As I write this, I also realize that there are two important unknowns when it comes to jobs in Indiana: One has to do with the GM stamping plant in Indianapolis and whether it will remain open, and the second has to do with Navistar phasing down operations in Ft. Wayne. As an Indianapolis bankruptcy attorney, I know many, many jobs are dependent on the outcomes in these two situations. All the Indiana bankruptcy lawyers who are my colleagues are on the alert for news about these two companies.

The overall employment picture is showing signs of recovery; Indiana added 13,000 private sector jobs in July. Mark Everson of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development reported that Hoosiers make up 2% of the U.S, population, yet we captured 9% of all new jobs in the nation in July. To me, what that says is fewer individuals will need payday loan debt help.

Right now, I can tell by the requests I'm getting for payday loan debt help, student loan debt help, and help with mortgage modifications, that we're far, far, from being "out of the woods" when it comes to jobs in Indiana. Still, hopeful employment reports like these cheer me because I know these new jobs will make it possible for more people to make a fresh financial start after emerging from bankruptcy in Indiana! 

 Last week in Bankruptcy in Indiana I shared some thoughts from a new book by an Indiana author called Failure; the Secret to Success, explaining that one of my missions as a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana is to help debtors focus on the future rather than on their own past failures.

In order to provide the latest Indiana bankruptcy information to clients and readers, I read a lot - newspapers, professional journals, books websites, and even blogs. The interesting thing is that, a day or two after I finished reading the Robby Slaughter book on failure that I mentioned earlier, I found an article from Inc. Magazine, written 12 years ago, with almost the same name as the Slaughter book.. This article tells the story of Jeff Schwartz, whose business, Remarkable Moments, had failed, and it brings out the idea that sometimes a business failure teaches lessons that lead to future success.

As a lawyer for small business bankruptcy in Indiana,  I really related to the opening paragraph of the Inc. article:  "There are three things to know about failure:

1. It happens.
    
2. It can be destructive in ways you've never imagined.
    
3. Believe it or not, there's a right way to do it.
   
   The point of the article is that Jeff Schwartz should have pulled the plug on his business long ago.  He should have dealt with the realities before he had gone three years without a salary, before he'd burned through all his personal savings, before his wife quit the PTA and community activities because of the business' demands, before he raided his children's college funds."

Every one of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who works in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices has heard stories like this.  Every one of the good bankruptcy attorneys in Indiana who are my colleagues in Anderson, Bloomington, and Indianapolis has  worked with individuals and small business owners who waited too long to file bankruptcy in Indiana, and who lost assets they might have kept had they sought legal advice earlier in the game.

Having helped write the exemptions portion of the new bankruptcy laws of Indiana, I find it particularly sad when I find that, in order to put off facing bankruptcy, small business owners have gone into their retirement plan assets (which are exempt from creditors' claims in bankruptcy in Indiana), and spent money they might have preserved for their family and for their own support in later years.

Whether it comes to filing personal bankruptcy under bankruptcy Chapter 7 in Indiana, Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana, or whether we're talking about small business bankruptcy in Indiana, I have to agree with two of the three Inc. Magazine statements about failure:

1. Bankruptcy happens.
    
2. Believe it or not, there's a right way to do it.

As far as the remaining statement about failure being destructive, I believe the bankruptcy process - and in particular the process of successfully emerging from bankruptcy can be constructive in ways most people haven't imagined!
 

"My job is to serve as a human shield." is one of the 12 things good bosses believe, according to Robert Sutton as quoted in the Harvard Business Review. Sutton goes on to explain what he means. Good bosses protect their people "from external intrusions, distractions, and idiocy of every type".

As I read the article, I couldn't help thinking that Mark Zuckerberg's job is to serve as a human shield! In fact, I wondered if Sutton, Professor of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University, wasn't referring to all the good bankruptcy attorneys in Indiana.   It's certainly true that a good portion of our effort in Indiana bankruptcy law goes towards helping clients who have turned to us for Indiana bankruptcy help overcome distractions and focus on a plan of action for the future.

Is bankruptcy Chapter 7 in Indiana the right decision?  Would filing under Chapter 13 bankruptcy laws be more appropriate to the situatioin? Let's focus on getting all the information together to help in the decision process. Let's measure the problem, but focus on the solution, I urge.

Bill Gross, founder of the world's largest bond fund, said a wise thing: "Loss of confidence is perhaps the most dangerous thing. A patient with hope, most doctors will agree, has a better chance of recovery." As I help clients prepare to file individual bankruptcy in Indiana, one of the primary ways I need to serve as a "human shield" is to move my clients' minds away from self-blame and towards hope for the future.. 

I think any debt consolidation lawyer would agree with my message to debtors seeking Indiana bankruptcy help: "Don't blame yourself. Don't blame others in your family. Use the safety net provided by the new bankruptcy laws of Indiana to buy time to plan for the future. Spend your emotional energies fofocused on the chance for the fresh financial start that filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana has to offer."

Do you need help to stop foreclosure? Do you need help understanding how personal bankruptcy in Indiana works?  You're certainly not alone, I explain to debtors who turn to me for help. I have worked with literally tens of thousands of individuals, I explain.  I understand you never thought you'd be here, I say, but here you are. Let the new bankruptcy laws in Indiana go to work to help you make a fresh start.

Meanwhile, I say, let's get your mind off the distractions and get you ready to make good, informed decisions about your financial future.

• payday lenders
• high-fee debt settlement agencies
• credit repair and foreclosure prevention services.

Whether or not filing individual bankruptcy in Indiana is the recommended course of action in any one person's case, or whether small business bankruptcy in Indiana should be filed as well, our mission is to help debtors understand their options and be shielded from distractions of bill collectors' calls and letters.

Looking back on all the many years I have worked alongside my colleagues as a debt consolidation lawyer, and on all the lectures I've given for ongoing education to other bankruptcy attorneys in Indiana, I cannot think of a better description for the work we do than "human shields"!

As a longtime bankruptcy attorney and debt consolidation lawyer in Indiana, I'm keenly aware of the tie-in between bankruptcy and jobs.  Every one of the Anderson, Indianapolis, Bloomington, and Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices is seeing people who need help because they lost jobs.  Income from jobs - or lack of it -  is high on the list of discussion topics when we're talking to clients about filing bankruptcy in Indiana, that's for sure.

Last week, though, a statistic was released by the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission that showed me that, for some people, losing a job can be even more tragic than for others.  According to USA Today, "More people with disabilities filed charges of discrimination against their employers last year than at any time in the 20-year history of the Americans With Disabilities Act."

Nicholas LaRocca of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society thinks people with disabilities may be seen as less productive, and, in a recession, are more likely to be let go. That means an increase in the number of people who need to file individual bankruptcy in Indiana, and increase in people needing payday loan debt help, student loan debt help, and even help with mortgage modification.

When it comes to qualifying under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana, debtors must show they have enough income to make debt repayments under a three to five year plan.  At least if Mr. LaRocca's impression is correct, finding new work might be doubly hard for disabled debtors. Even under Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Indiana, debtors need income in order to emerge from bankruptcy and get back to keeping their bills paid. While filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana can provide relief from creditors, income from jobs is a key ingredient if a new financial start is to be the result.

As I read this USA Today article, I was reminded that disabled individuals that were downsized obviously were able to work, which means they would probably not qualify for social security disability payments.  What's more, I realized (as a seasoned Indiana lawyer for bankruptcy used to dealing with debt problems), in many cases, the disabled need to pay for medical equipment and supplies.  Many are not in a position to purchase COBRA health insurance.

In my Bankruptcy in Indiana articles, I've often stressed how crucial it is to seek legal advice at the first sign of financial difficulty.  For all the reasons listed above, that goes double for disabled workers who are laid off.  The new bankruptcy laws of Indiana are there to provide a safety net, and it's important for laid off workers to be proactive about using that safety net. 

While I feel  doubly sad for the disabled who've been dealt a "double whammy" by losing their jobs, I feel doubly proud to serve in the profession of Indiana bankruptcy law whose mission it is to provide help and hope to debtors.

For someone who never wanted to be a real estate lawyer, I've needed to know an awful lot about real estate.  That has been the case more than ever in the most recent part of the close to 25 years I've served as a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana.  Falling real estate prices have been the subject of headlines and have caused problems for bankruptcy clients in Indiana who need my help to stop foreclosure.

As I've written in many earlier Bankruptcy in Indiana articles, under the new bankruptcy laws of Indiana, filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy can often help stop foreclosure when second mortgages are discharged by the bankruptcy court.  However, first mortgage debt is not dischargeable in bankruptcy, so for clients filing bankruptcy Chapter 7 in Indiana, the process will not help them stop foreclosure.

The current administration has been offering cash incentives to mortgage services companies who agree to help homeowners remain in their homes.  I, along with the Anderson, Bloomington, Indianapolis, and Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices have been called upon to help stop foreclosures by helping our clients prepared the mortgage modification paperwork so they can try to qualify for these mortgage lender programs.

According to the Indianapolis Star, "nearly $83 million in Federal funds is available to help unemployed Hoosiers avoid foreclosure on their homes. And now, there's a new foreclosure prevention program, called Hardest Hit Fund, which just this month was extended to 17 states, including Indiana.  A related program, the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program, administered through HUD, provides zero interest loans of up to $50,000 for qualified unemployed - or underemployed - people. Every one of the good bankruptcy attorneys in Indiana who works with me stays on constant alert for new programs coming out to help stop foreclosure.

Meanwhile, as one of only a dozen Certified Consumer Bankruptcy Specialists in our state, there are various ways I am able to be of help (along with the other Indiana bankruptcy attorneys in the four Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices:

• I help by analyzing a homeowner's financial situation
   
• I am used to  having skilled property appraisals run
   
• As a bankruptcy attorney in Indiana, preparing debt-income ratios for the applications for help is an area of expertise for me
   
• To achieve mortgage modification, I and my colleagues help by negotiating various mortgage compromises on behalf of clients.

Sheriffs' sales have become a bigger and bigger part of the stories shared by clients who turn to me for Indiana bankruptcy help. Indiana has a three-month waiting period before a sheriff's sale can be triggered, with the only exception being residential real estate that has been abandoned.

As part of my mission to offer bankruptcy information in Indiana to my readers and clients, (as wekk as to the attorneys around the state of Indiana whom I help educate on the new bankruptcy laws in Indiana), it's important for me to include real estate matters in the mix. No getting away from it - nowadays, a bankruptcy attorney in Indiana needs to know a lot about real estate!

A bankruptcy attorney in Indiana - actually anybody in Indiana - has to care about the future of GM.  And actually, as a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana, I've been sharing news about the GM bankruptcy with my clients and Bankruptcy in Indiana readers from the beginning.

A few weeks ago, I wrote these words: "Tracking Indiana employment statistics is like riding an emotional roller coaster."  Well, as I was telling some colleagues who are bankruptcy lawyers in Columbus, the GM saga has been like a roller coaster and then some, and the drama continues…..

The reason the fate of the GM stamping plant is such an item of interest for all the Anderson, Bloomington, Indianapolis and Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices can be summed up in one word - jobs! As I've repeated so often, successful emergence from bankruptcy in Indiana is absolutely dependent on the availability of well-paid jobs.

As of this writing, here's where things stand:

• GM is negotiating the sale of its Indianapolis stamping plant to JD Norman Industries.
   
• If the sale should fall through, GM plans to close the Indiana operation and move the machinery to Michigan and Ohio.

What's the significance of all this?

• One of the JD Norman conditions for purchase is that union workers agree to lower wages.  The buyer says the plan could employ 2,000 at the lower wage (650 work there now).
   
• Indiana has lost 200,000 manufacturing jobs over the past ten years.
   
• GM Indianapolis is one of the city's largest taxpayers
   
• The debate within the union continues: As one GM worker put it, better having a job making less money than no job making no money!

On behalf of those emerging from bankruptcy in Indiana, I can't help but agree.  Those who've filed bankruptcy Chapter 7 in Indiana want their chance at a fresh financial start.  It take jobs for that to happen.

Then, of course, those who filed under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana need income to keep up with their court-supervised debt repayment plans.

All the good bankruptcy attorneys in Indiana who work with me are rooting for GM stamping plant jobs to remain right here in Indiana!

As a debt consolidation lawyer and Indiana lawyer for bankruptcy, I wear quite a number of different hats in the course of my work.  Almost always, though, helping clients file personal bankruptcy in Indiana comes around to preparing for "meetings" and "tests".

When I say "meetings, I mean the creditors' meeting which takes place within 20 to 40 days of the time a bankruptcy in Indiana is filed.  The meeting is presided over by a trustee appointed by the bankruptcy court, either in an office or a room in the courthouse.  All the creditors to whom the debtor owes money are invited. (In reality, it's rare for creditors to actually show up at the meeting.)  You attend this meeting along with your Indiana bankruptcy attorney.  The whole idea is to give the creditors a chance to ask questions about the bankruptcy paperwork you've turned in.  While the creditors may or may not choose to attend the meeting, the debtor must attend.

Any discussion about what debtors can reasonably be expected to pay towards their debt comes down to the "test", meaning the Indiana means test. This is the measure the bankruptcy court uses to determine of someone's eligible to file bankruptcy in Indiana, and to decide if Chapter 7 bankruptcy is available to them, or whether they need to file under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana. 

As an Indiana lawyer for bankruptcy, then, I'm always working with the numbers.  Where do the number standards come from?  First of all, they are national standards, sometimes adjusted for regional differences, and they originate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Expenditure Survey.  Periodically, of course, those numbers are adjusted for inflation. The numbers are stated in terms of number of people in the family.  There are specific numbers for a one-person household, a two, a three, or a four-person household, and then an amount to be added for each additional person over four.

You might say that one of the main tasks that I and my colleagues in the four Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices have in the course of our work is numbers.  We help gather numbers, we need to know the current laws concerning those numbers, and then, using the numbers, we prepare the paperwork which categorizes and analyzes those numbers for each client.  In fact, one of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers from my office there pointed out that, even if clients aren't filing bankruptcy in Indiana, and we're negotiating with their mortgage companies to help stop foreclosure, or maybe we're offering payday loan help, it's still all in the numbers.

After more than two decades of being an Indianapolis bankruptcy attorney, I agree and disagree.  Yes, "The Meeting "and "The Test" involve numbers.  All of our work involves numbers.  What's it's really all about, for me, though is not the numbers, but the people.  Our greatest satisfaction comes from turning what look like negative numbers into a positive - the chance for a fresh financial start for real people in Indiana!

Even though I'm an Indiana lawyer for bankruptcy, it often happens that clients come to talk with me who are far from certain that filing bankruptcy in Indiana is the best thing for them.  Sometimes, people just want my advice as a debt consolidation lawyer.  Or perhaps they want my help to stop foreclosure on their home.

Needless to say, the subject of just how bankruptcy in Indiana works comes up in the discussion, and invariably that comes around to the Indiana means test.  The means test is a standard by which the court determines if someone is eligible to file bankruptcy in Indiana, and which type of bankruptcy they qualify for.

As part of providing Indiana bankruptcy information, I explain that, if your income is less than the median income earned by Indiana residents during the last six months, you could probably qualify to file either Chapter 7 bankruptcy, or you could file under the new Chapter 13 bankruptcy laws of Indiana.  If your income is less than the median, on the other hand, Chapter 13 could be your only option.

Once I've explained the means test to my clients, my next step as a bankruptcy attorney in Indiana is to explain that federal law actually sets standards for each kind of expense.  There are allowable amounts that people who file bankruptcy in Indiana are allowed to keep for their own use, to support themselves and their families, before they're expected to make debt repayments.  For example, one reader asked about his family of six, and was told that the allowance would be around $1900 a month for food, housekeeping supplies, apparel and services, personal care products and services, and miscellaneous.

Well, there's an allowance for car expenses as well, which include lease payments or car payments, gasoline, and maintenance.  In the Midwest region, for example, the monthly vehicle allowance is $210 for one car, $420 for two.

One of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers from the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices there brought an interesting case to my attention.  In this court case, debtors had filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy and had claimed a vehicle allowance as part of their allowable expenses.  The thing was, though, they both owned their cars free and clear.  The question before the court, then, was - could they still claim the car expense allowance and use the money for other expenses?

The court's answer was, very simply "yes".  These two debtors had no monthly car loan to pay or lease obligation, either prior to filing bankruptcy or now, but they were allowed to claim an allowance for avehicle expense anyway!

Goes back to what I was saying yesterday - all's fair in bankruptcy!
 

It's true, and it always has been - the attempt to treat all parties fairly under bankruptcy law. I've watched the evolution of the bankruptcy laws of Indiana over the almost 25 years I've been a debt consolidation lawyer.  In fact, I helped write a portion of the new bankruptcy laws of Indiana.  The guiding principle behind federal bankruptcy law as well as Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana, is fairness, and the same is true of small business bankruptcy law in Indiana.

Does everybody win, then, in bankruptcy? Of course not. The bankruptcy court system is designed as a safety net to be used when honest debtors become so overwhelmed by negative circumstances beyond their control, that they need to be given the chance for a fresh financial start.

The Indiana lawyers for bankruptcy who wok in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices in Anderson, Bloomington, and Indianapolis, along with the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers in my offices there all deal in personal bankruptcy in Indiana.  In my case, I offer small business bankruptcy help along with personal bankruptcy help in Indiana.  None of us handles big corporations who file bankruptcy.

Still, a good example of fairness can be a publicly held business that files for bankruptcy.  Who gets treated how?  Creditors get paid first (for example banks who lent money to the company).  Bond holders are secured creditors, and they come before the stock holders.  Stock owners may lose all or part of the money they invested - they are last to get paid in a bankruptcy.  In fact, usually the stock of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy corporation has no value.

What I want to bring out here is that, in any bankruptcy, creditors stand to lose at least some money. On the other hand, the bankruptcy system is set up to treat creditors as equally and as fairly as possible.  I can tell you that, over the almost 25 years I've been in bankruptcy courts for creditors' meetings.  The creditors have the right to question the debtor and to look over the bankruptcy statement of assets, income, and expense that I've helped prepare for the occasion.  If creditor feel unfairly treated, they have a chance to put forth arguments during that hearing.

Bankruptcy is no win-win OR a lose-lose.  It's a series of compromises.  The idea is for all parties to "win" as much as possible within a bad situation.

This week I've been using my Bankruptcy in Indiana articles to highlight court decisions from other states in order to teach how individual bankruptcy in Indiana works. As a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana, I've helped tens of thousands of individuals file personal bankruptcy in Indiana.  Despite these large numbers, the fascinating thing is, each situation is a little different from all the others. 

Sometimes the clients who come to me for help (or who turn for help to one of the Anderson, Indianapolis, Bloomington, or Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices) have made good decisions.  Yet circumstances beyond their control (usually some combination of illness, job loss, and divorce) caused their financial problems to become overwhelming. 

Other clients, even with all good intentions, are suffering the results of poor decisions they've made.  A Chapter 7 bankruptcy case from North Carolina illustrates how the court looks at decisions Chapter 7 debtors make leading up to the time they file bankruptcy.
 

• In 2006, husband and wife R. and K. listed their home for sale after signing a contract for a new home.
   
• For 15 months, R. and K. owned two houses, unable to sell their former residence.
   
• In June 2008, R. and K. sold their first home in a short sale.
   
• A month later, the couple purchased a Disney Vacation timeshare.
   
• In July, 2009, R. and K. purchased two cars at a combined price of almost $70,000.  (Their monthly car payment actually went down as a result of the process.)
   
• R. and K. filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
   
• The bankruptcy court rejected their petition.  The reasoning: The couple had shown bad faith in purchasing, on the eve of bankruptcy, two expensive vehicles.  They also did not, the court ruled, need such an expensive home.  R. and K., the court ruled, could afford to repay their creditors if they moved to more affordable housing and drove less expensive cars.
   
• The court recommended that R. and K. convert to a Chapter 13 debt repayment plan bankruptcy.

Whenever I'm helping clients through the bankruptcy process, I help steer them through a long list of "to-do's" that need to be completed before actually filing a bankruptcy petition.  I also explain that there's an equally long list of "not-to-do's". As a long time lawyer for bankruptcy in Indiana, I know one thing:

It can be very important not only to do the right things before bankruptcy in Indiana, but to do them in the right order!

 

My mother was right.  In the course of twenty-plus years in practice providing bankruptcy services in Indiana, dealing with tens of thousands of individuals filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana, plus thousands of Indiana small business bankruptcy cases, I've realized that what she always used to say is absolutely true - everything that happens affects everything else.

Almost exactly two years ago, in Bankruptcy in Indiana, I wrote a piece called "Cities Can File Bankruptcy, Too!"  I was referring to Vallejo, Califormia and McCall Idaho, two cities that had filed bankruptcy under a new section of the bankruptcy code called Chapter 9, just for municipalities. (Of course in the four Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices we help people file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, or in some cases file under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana.  But as part of providing up to date bankruptcy information in Indiana, I have often used companies that are in the news to illustrate different aspects of how bankruptcy works.).

 
What's interesting is that, in keeping up on all the reading I do in the fields of tax law, financial planning, employment benefits, and other fields, (because all of those fields relate to my work in bankruptcy in Indiana), I came across an article in the July issue of Financial Planning Magazine  talking about Vallejo, California and other municipalities that filed bankruptcy.

The city of Vallejo had issued tax-free municipal bonds, and many investors owned those bonds, expecting to receive regular interest payments.  In the meantime, the city has thousands of employees.  What Financial Planning Magazine brings out is that
cities and towns that have police offers, firefighters, teachers, and other employees have pension obligations to those employees.  When, in the course of a bankruptcy, the court sets up a plan stating the order in which creditors get paid, if it's a city, pensions take precedence over interest payments to bondholders.  As Financial Planning Magazine points out, "It will be at least three years until Vallejo resumes making any bondholder payments".

As a debt consolidation lawyer, I was very interested in what financial planner Donald Jay Korn had to say.  Korn thinks cities and towns filing Chapter 9 bankruptcy is a serious issue for investors, especially if those cities owe pension money to retired and current employees.  Korn thinks perhaps investors ought to put their money in other kinds of investments than muni bonds and that they should keep a close eye on municipal bond investments they already own.

One bankruptcy - but look how many different parties are affected! As all good bankruptcy attorneys in Indiana would verify, big business bankruptcies in other states can affect small business bankruptcy in Indiana.  Small business bankruptcy in Indiana is often linked to individual bankruptcy in Indiana.  Owners, workers, families - it's a real ripple effect.  As my mother so rightly said, "Everything affects everything else."

Tracking Indiana employment statistics is like riding an emotional roller coaster. As a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana, I keep reading everything I can get my hands on about the job markets in our state.  And that has meant seesawing between "hot" and "cold", said and happy, hope and despair.  For every piece of news, it seems there's always what news commentator Paul Harvey used to call "the rest of the story"!

Just yesterday I quoted Ball State University's Michael Hicks saying he sees Indiana "starting to see the light of recovery." I reported new job opportunities coming in Columbus and Ft. Wayne.  All this is true and good news, because income from well-paying jobs is key to successfully emerging from personal bankruptcy in Indiana.

But, at the same time as the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices there are calling my attention to all the jobs being created by Cummins Engine and NTN Driveshaft, and at the same time the good bankruptcy attorneys in Indiana who work with me in Anderson are telling me about Saratoga Potato Chips coming to Ft. Wayne and hiring lots of workers, I'm also reading in the Indianapolis Star about thousands upon thousands of unemployed Hoosiers who have lost their jobless benefits in the last month.

In Indiana, the state pays unemployment benefits for a maximum of 26 weeks. Federal extensions have made it possible to receive benefits for a total of 99 weeks (almost two years).  But the way the system works, as a worker reaches the end of any one extension period, he or she can't move on to the next until Congress passes new legislation.   There are simply a lot of people looking for jobs.

What this has meant on a daily basis for me as a longtime bankruptcy lawyer in Indiana, is a lot more people needing help to stop foreclosure on their homes, a lot more people needing student loan debt help, and even a lot more people needing payday loan debt help in Indiana. The saddest situation, from my point of view, is when someone has filed under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana and then, because of losing a job and then losing unemployment benefits, failing to keep up with the debt repayment plan.  Often individuals need to "redo" their bankruptcy as Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Unemployment definitely represents the sad, low, cold, and despair dips in the Bankruptcy in Indiana roller coaster ride!

 

Since one of the four Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices is in Anderson, I'm interested in news from that area, including neighboring Muncie, home of Ball State University.  That's especially true when the news has to do with jobs.  As a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy information in Indiana, I'm always looking for news about job markets.  As my Bankruptcy in Indiana readers and Indiana bankruptcy clients are used to me repeating, successfully emerging from personal bankruptcy in Indiana depends upon steady, adequate income from jobs.

Economics professor Michael Hicks, director of the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research believes "Indiana is starting to see the light of recovery".   And while Hicks admits that right now our state is continuing to lose jobs, he sees us as being back to "full employment" in 2011. The federal government reports that initial jobless claims have fallen to their lowest point since early May. 

Needless to say, I and the good bankruptcy attorneys in Indiana who are my colleagues take these reports with a big grain of salt. As clients continue to come to us for help filing individual bankruptcy in Indiana, we're finding that, in more and more cases, a job loss was the beginning of the financial slide that led these financially responsible people to the point of considering bankruptcy.

Still, I am reading some good-news developments.

• Auto supplier NTN Driveshaft in Columbus has been approved for a tax abatement that will keep more than 1,200 jobs in Bartholomew County.
   
• Again in the Columbus area, Cummins Engine announced it's expanding its nearby Seymour operation, and will be creating 200 new jobs over the next five yea

(The Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices in that city were mighty glad to hear both these pieces of news!)
 

• In another part of the state, Saratoga Potato Chips LLC intends to locate its U.S. headquarters in Ft. Wayne and create up to 175 jobs.

(With Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices in Anderson, I'm sure this news will someday result in helping Chapter 7 bankruptcy clients in Indiana emerge from bankruptcy and get back on their financial feet.  Those that have filed under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana will have a much better chance at keeping up with their 3-5 year debt repayment plans.

The one big negative piece of news this week cam from the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration's Division of Mental Health and Addiction.  It will transfer many patients from state hospitals to community-based care, eliminating 355 jobs in Logansport State Hospital, plus another 106 positions at Richmond State Hospital.

For all of the more than twenty years I've been in practice as an Indianapolis bankruptcy attorney, loss of a job has been one of the three leading causes of bankruptcy in Indiana, along with divorce and medical expenses. In recent years, job loss has become a gigantic factor in bankruptcy.  That's the reason I think it's important to keep reporting how we're doing in the job market department.  In the meanwhile, I just keep helping people take advantage of the bankruptcy safety net system to make a fresh financial state - one person, one family at a time.

In their book, Personal Bankruptcy Laws for Dummies, authors James and John Caher offer quite a bit of useful information.  There's one paragraph in Chapter 3, though, that, from the vantage point of a twenty-three year veteran debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana, I think gives absolutely the wrong impression.

The Cahers start out with a true statement: "Bankruptcy law is incredibly complex, particularly in the wake of the new bankruptcy laws." But then, in describing what debtors should expect from their lawyers, here's the advice they offer with which I definitely don't agree:

Some lawyers offer a free initial consultation, which means the only way that they make any money is if you end up filing bankruptcy…You're probably better off paying an attorney for an hour of his or her time, expecting to pay roughly $100 to $200 an hour."

Here's why I, the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices, and all the good bankruptcy attorneys in Indiana who are my colleagues in Indianapolis, Anderson, and Bloomington, all offer free consultations and why we believe it's the right thing to do for people who need help understanding whether filing bankruptcy in Indiana can help their situation.

In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, all attorney and filing fees must be paid before filing bankruptcy in Indiana. (Under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana, the fees are paid over an extended period of time).  Before you have a consultation with an experienced bankruptcy lawyer, though, you probably don't know which kind of bankruptcy you qualify for and which best fits what you're trying to accomplish.

In fact, as you prepare to visit with an attorney, you may be wondering if you can get together enough money to pay the bankruptcy filing fee to begin with.  You certainly don't want to spend your limited dollars on fees before you even get professional advice as to whether filing bankruptcy in Indiana is right for you! 

The way we see matters in the four Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices, we'd rather spend time personally meeting with clients to help them decide on an appropriate plan of action. We don't want to add even a couple hundred dollars to your financial burdens before we know to what extent we can be of help.

When I began communicating online with Bankruptcy in Indiana three years ago, I wrote this:

"Personally I'm hoping I'll be able to get across some of my ideas about how clients should expect to be treated and how important I know it is to just listen to people when they need to talk about their business or their family or their health problems…."

Having helped literally tens of thousands of people file personal bankruptcy in Indiana, (as well as training hundreds of other attorneys in Indiana bankruptcy law), I have absolutely no interest in "convincing" anyone to file bankruptcy if that's not the best route for them.  In short, the way I see the initial no-obligation meeting with each client is this: It's an essential first step in the bankruptcy process! 

 

For the past three years, I've been reporting all the news I can find about Indiana job markets.  My colleagues the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers are on the alert for job news.  In fact, all of the good bankruptcy attorneys who work in the four Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices around the state are used to collecting news about jobs for me to share with clients and readers of Bankruptcy in Indiana.

The truth is, people can file bankruptcy in Indiana, but they simply cannot successfully emerge from bankruptcy without job opportunities.  That's because, even given the opportunity for a fresh financial start by having some of their debts discharged, Chapter 7 bankruptcy clients cannot get their finances under control, keeping the bills paid and putting aside some money for emergencies.  Those who've filed under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana have no hope of keeping up with their 3-5 year debt repayment plans without having regular income from jobs.  That's just how it is.

There is good news to report this week from several sources:

• Allison Transmission just dedicated a new hybrid bus manufacturing plan in Indianapolis.  By next year, Allison to expects to fill 100 high-paying manufacturing positions.
• BCForward, the computer consulting firm, hopes to create 200 new highly paid jobs, also in Indianapolis, within the next two years.
• In Scottsburg in the southern part of the state, (the Bloomington and Columbus bankruptcy lawyers in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices serve southern Indiana), American Plastic Molding Corporation is expanding and expects to create up to 50 new jobs in the next couple of years.                                

As one example, Segall points out that the Vera Bradley Company's announcements that it had hired 490 new workers neglected to add that three other companies in Ft. Wayne were either laying off employers or shutting down entirely because of Vera Bradley's moving its sewing operation in-house. According to 13 Investigates, at the same time as Vera Bradley was announcing all the new jobs, the same number of jobs was being lost at other companies.  Similarly, when Global Tool in Ft. Wayne was bought by X-Y Tool & Die, workers were laid off, and despite job expansion promises by X-Y, were never rehired by the new company.

As you might imagine, knowing how vital it is for my clients who've filed individual bankruptcy in Indiana to have income from jobs, this new insight didn't make me very happy!

In writing Bankruptcy in Indiana, I like to use actual court cases as teaching tools.  So when one of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who works in the Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law office there told me about the "American Express case" from North Dakota, he knew I'd be interested.

Bankruptcy in Indiana readers and clients know that in either Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy in Indiana or under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana, it's often credit card debt that is discharged by the bankruptcy court. In this North Dakota case, though, the bankruptcy court ruled that the entire American Express credit card debt (over $16,000) was, by definition, non-dischargeable.

With almost 25 years' experience as a debt consolidation lawyer and bankruptcy attorney in Indiana, working with tens of thousands of debtors, one thing I keep stressing is that if you file bankruptcy in Indiana, the court is going to look very closely at purchases you made in the months leading up to the filing date.  In other words, if you made a lot of luxury, unnecessary purchases, don't expect the court to forgive the debt you incurred buying that stuff!

Here's what happened in the North Dakota case:
 

• K. filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on September 4, 2009.
   
• American Express, one of K's creditors, objected.  (In providing bankruptcy information in Indiana, I've often talked about the Creditors' Meeting, where creditors have the opportunity to object to the debtor's request to have the court "forgive" or discharge that debt.
   
• Within the three months leading up to K's filing, K used his American Express car 59 times, increasing his debt by close to $10,000.
   
• The court commented that, while they didn't know exactly what was purchased, the amount of the charges, "and the fact that the charges were made at various department stores and specialty retailers" lead the judge to believe that these charges were incurred for luxury items.
   
• The court ruled that K. had acted with "reckless disregard" against American Express and dismissed K's bankruptcy petition.

As I'm always saying (and as any good bankruptcy lawyer in Indianapolis would confirm), Indiana bankruptcy help is meant to give honest debtors the chance for a fresh financial start.  Bankruptcy is not meant for irresponsible spenders who hope to walk away from their obligations.

Think of it this way:  Bankruptcy in Indiana is a safety net, not a meal ticket!
 

 

When you're a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana for as many years as I have, you deal in credit matters all day long, every day. It doesn't take very long to realize how much false information is circulating out there about credit and bankruptcy.  The most common myth is that filing bankruptcy in Indiana kills your ability to get credit for ten whole years.

And it's not just me.  All the good bankruptcy attorneys in the Indiana Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices in Indianapolis, Anderson, and Bloomington hear this myth repeated time and again.  The Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who are my colleagues in that city think the myth is simply a misinterpretation of a fact.  That fact is, a bankruptcy filed under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana will remain on your credit record for seven years.   But, what's not fact is that, post-bankruptcy, you won't have any credit available.  That message has become one of the central themes of the articles I write in Bankruptcy in Indiana.

As an Indianapolis bankruptcy attorney who's helped literally tens of thousands of people file personal bankruptcy in Indiana (and in many cases, small business bankruptcy in Indiana along with that), I can tell you that, just because something shows up on a credit report doesn't mean you can't get credit!

Now, this doesn't mean lenders will totally ignore the fact that you've filed individual bankruptcy in Indiana.  But, in the real world, lenders realize you're probably a better credit risk after you file bankruptcy in Indiana than before!

• Some (not all) credit card companies will actually allow you to keep your card after your debt to them has been discharged in bankruptcy in Indiana, possibly at a higher initial interest rate.
   
• When it comes to a home loan, debtors generally qualify for a loan on the same terms as anyone else once two years have passed from the bankruptcy.
   
• If you have regular employment income, and are up-front with the lessor, you should be able to lease an apartment following bankruptcy in Indiana.
   
• As far as a car loan after bankruptcy, you may even receive unsolicited offers in the mail.  Bringing along a copy of your credit report showing that debts were forgiven in bankruptcy will probably help get the deal done.

Since I've devoted this week's Bankruptcy in Indiana articles to reviewing themes, the main theme here is that bankruptcy is not a credit killer - in fact, it's a credit rebuilder, a chance to re-establish good credit!

If almost 25 years as a debt consolidation lawyer writing and teaching about bankruptcy information in Indiana has taught me anything, it's this: individual bankruptcy in Indiana and unemployment statistics go hand-in-hand.

Together with my colleagues in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices in Bloomington, Anderson, and Indianapolis, I'm always following the news about Indiana jobs.  It's important for us to know who's hiring, who's firing, who's expanding, who's downsizing.  Inevitably, we see the results of employment trends in the form of people needing Indiana bankruptcy help.

This being the beginning of July, the May unemployment statistics have just been released.  Nationally, according to the Indianapolis Star, unemployment fell in 37 states in May.  Six states had increased unemployment, and seven saw no change from the month before.  As an Indiana lawyer for bankruptcy, I had mixed feelings upon learning that Indiana was one of the states whose jobless rate remained the same as the previous month - 10%.  Not that new jobs haven't been created - in fact, I've been writing about the many new opportunities that have already opened up or which are on the horizon for the next year or two.

I can tell things are not back to where they need to be, at least not yet.  I can tell by the increase in the number of people needing payday loan debt help, help in stopping foreclosure, and even student loan debt help.  In certain industries such as transportation, utilities, and construction there were net job losses, and in many cases I'm already seeing the results in the form of an increased number of people filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana.

The fact is, as any good bankruptcy attorney in Indiana can attest, clients emerging from bankruptcy need income from jobs.  If they've filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, they need income to pay bills and get back on their financial feet.  Under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana, clients need income to keep up with their three to five year debt repayment plans. 

i was sharing with the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who are my colleagues that, as a longtime lawyer for bankruptcy, the way I see things is this:

Indiana may be better off than neighboring states when it comes to unemployment, but, however you slice it, a jobless rate of 10% isn't good news!

 

I'm feeling especially privileged.  It's always an honor to be asked by one's peers to speak at an advanced seminar about the bankruptcy laws in Indiana.

ICLEF (the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum) is holding its Annual Master's Series Conference on Advanced Family Law July 17-18 at French Lick, Indiana. As one of only a dozen consumer bankruptcy specialists in the state of Indiana, I have been invited to lead a session on "Bankruptcy Issues Within Family Law".

As a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana for more than twenty years, I've written and lectured many times before on ways in which divorce and child support issues intertwine with bankruptcy law in Indiana.

My colleagues the Anderson, Bloomington, Indianapolis, and Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices have all handled cases where bankruptcy and divorce were happening at the same time to the same people.  We've all learned that, whether you're filing under Chapter 13 bankruptcy laws of Indiana or filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy, two things seem to hold true:

• Careful bankruptcy planning can make divorce simpler; lack of careful bankruptcy planning can make divorce much more complicated and painful.
  
  
• It's a myth that bankruptcy in Indiana leads to divorce.  Bankruptcy isn't a problem - it can often be a solution.  In reality, filing bankruptcy often strengthens a marriage when the couple is being pro-active together in the face of financial problems.

If divorce and bankruptcy are both in the cards for you, it's crucial to obtain expert legal advice.  In fact, one of my purposes in offering the advanced education session for professionals is to help family law attorneys better understand why it's important to coordinate their strategy with us bankruptcy attorneys, all in the best interests of the clients.