Bankruptcy Indiana

Nicholas Cage's story is nothing if not a textbook on bankruptcy.

Before I explain, you really should understand a couple of things:
 

• As a debt consolidation lawyer who offers Indiana bankruptcy help, the closest I've ever come to celebrity status is having the name Mark Zuckerberg be included as one of Indiana's Super Lawyers Top 50.
• If you were to run your eyes down the list of the tens of thousands of clients for whom I've provided Indiana bankruptcy services for almost twenty-five years, you would almost certainly not come across any film stars such as Nicholas Cage!

Of course, the actor's true-life story is playing out in Hollywood, far away from where I offer Indiana bankruptcy help. Still, reading all the stories about Cage's bankruptcy, it struck me that two of the factors that played a part in this celebrity case are the same factors I deal with every day in my work as a Columbus bankruptcy lawyer and as a bankruptcy lawyer in Indianapolis. 

Since one of my main goals in blogging is to offer Indiana bankruptcy information to readers and clients, I thought it made sense to use this famous case as a teaching tool to clarify how the bankruptcy process works.

FORECLOSURE
As of this writing, Nicholas Cage has already lost two homes in New Orleans to foreclosure and has had to sell several other properties at a steep discount in order to raise money to pay debts.

Under current law, foreclosure and bankruptcy are two separate legal processes and two separate issues.  In most client situations, though, the two seems to be tied together as part of the financial troubles.

True, bankruptcy doesn't always involve foreclosure, and foreclosure can, in some instances, help avoid bankruptcy.  The professionals in my four bankruptcy law offices and I work to come up with the very best plan for each client's situation. For example, it often happens that I am able to assist clients in negotiating mortgage modifications with their home lenders, to that they're able to stay in their homes.

TAXES
According to Forbes, the IRS claims Cage owes more than $800,000 in tax and penalties for years 2002-2004, $6 million from 2007, and another $1 million in taxes through a company he owns.

Taxes fall into the category of bills it's important to address first.  That's because, as I explain to clients, bad things can happen when you don't pay federal income taxes.  The IRS can put a lien on your property, including money in your bank account, and garnish your wages as well. You notice that some of Nicholas Cage's overdue back taxes are more than three years old, and sometimes, in a bankruptcy, those taxes can be discharged. For more recent taxes, such as those Cage owes for 2007, bankruptcy may not be of any help.

Taxes and foreclosures are issues Nicholas Cage has in common with many of my Indiana clients. There are issues that Nicholas Cage is not facing, but which are problems for my clients, many of whom turn to me for payday loan debt help, student loan debt help, or very large medical bills they cannot pay.

I discussed the Nicholas Cage story with the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers in my office there, as well as with the Anderson bankruptcy lawyers in my office in that city, asking them what lessons might be learned from the Nicholas Cage news.

We were all in agreement on one point: The most important lesson here is that, if you’re undergoing difficult times in this recession,you’re not alone. Our legal system is set up to give debtors a chance to make a fresh financial start. 

Even Academy Award winners like Nicholas Cage are learning that!