Bankruptcy Information in Indiana

What’s ahead when it comes to bankruptcy in Indiana?   In fact, what’s going on around our country?  (It’s easy to understand why I, as a debt consolidation lawyer offering Indiana bankruptcy help would be interested in statistics about bankruptcy, but why would you, readers of these Bankruptcy in Indiana articles, care about anybody else’s bankruptcy but your own?)

Well, for a number of reasons.  Remember the “ripple effect” I’m always discussing, the one where a company has financial problems and lays off employees?  Those employees then have no money to buy stuff, so the small business owners in the area are hurt.  Problems – and solutions to problems – are contagious.  Knowing what’s going on around you keeps you prepared to deal with whatever life dishes up. That’s why I think it’s so important for me, in these Bankruptcy in Indiana articles, to stay on top of news from around the globe and to encourage all my colleagues the Bloomington, Anderson, Indianapolis, and Columbus bankruptcy lawyers to read everything they can get their hands on and then share information.

Take the item from the Milwaukee Business Journal, for example, reporting that eastern Wisconsin bankruptcy filings declined by 7% in 2011, while at the same time quoting a local attorney who believes filing personal bankruptcy will increase in 2012, because people remain underemployed and because many homeowners will not be able to arrange mortgage modifications on their homes.

In our own four Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices, we work hard to help people negotiate mortgage modifications, but the fact remains that Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana has proven to be a much more effective tool to help stop foreclosure.

A second article out of Washington State also notes that bankruptcy filings appear to have slowed down a little, but that a future jump is expected as bank try to recoup their losses from some of the foreclosures.

The statistics tell us there were 22754 cases filed in Southern District of Indiana in 2011, compared with 27394 the prior year.  But, as someone who’s helped tens of thousands of Indiana debtors make a fresh financial start by filing individual bankruptcy in Indiana, I believe we’re not nearly out of the woods yet.

An Indiana University study says that 46 million Americans are living below the poverty line, and that those numbers will continue to rise.  Although the recession is officially over, the scarcity of well-paying jobs will have the effect of increasing poverty levels.

Predictions won’t help you individually, but what I’m hoping is that knowing how widespread the problems are will help you realize that time is on your side only if you, early on, seek help in exploring different options. No, you may not be ready to actually file personal bankruptcy in Indiana or small business bankruptcy in Indiana, but, are you ready to get your own personal statistics (your “ducks”) in a row, ready to handle whatever the new year brings?

When it comes to bankruptcy in Indiana, I’ve learned after 25 years offering Indiana bankruptcy help, it’s not a matter of “poor– it’s a matter of “debt”.

As a debt consolidation lawyer, I often find my advice being sought not by shabbily dressed clients driving rattletrap cars, but by people who are used to extremely luxurious lifestyles. Some combination of job loss, divorce, medical emergencies, and the drop in real estate values forced them to face up to their spiraling debt situation and to seek Indiana bankruptcy help.

Usually, visitors to the Zuckerberg law offices come in feeling they’re very much alone.  Actually, though, that’s far from the case. That’s why, in these Bankruptcy in Indiana articles, I find it useful to highlight stories of very famous sports figures, movie stars, and political leaders who filed personal bankruptcy not because they were “poor”, but because their debts got the better of them.

One of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who works in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices brought in an interesting story about something that happened only last month. A tycoon once called the richest man in Ireland was declared bankrupt by the High Court in Dublin. Sean Quinn, whose real estate fortune was valued at $6 billion just a few years ago, now has debts of approximately $3 billion.

This Sean Quinn saga makes for an interesting tidbit, to be sure, but is the story really valuable to “regular folks” in Indiana who need me to help stop foreclosure on their homes or who need student loan debt help? Here’s why I'm including this article as part of providing bankruptcy information in Indiana:

• The new bankruptcy laws of Indiana are designed to offer a chance for a fresh financial start, and that means every honest debtor regardless of the number of zeros after the numbers.

• Sean Quinn became a billionaire by taking risks in business. As every business person – and every Indiana small business bankruptcy lawyer – knows, not always do risks pay off as hoped.

There’s little pleasure in Sean Quinn’s bankruptcy,” remarks irishcentral.com, explaining that Quinn’s “downfall was as unexpected as it was dramatic.”  As all good bankruptcy attorneys in Indiana would agree, though, there may be no pleasure in ANY bankruptcy, but what there is, is RELIEF!

For years now in these Bankruptcy in Indiana articles, I’ve been reassuring readers that, contrary to popular myth, bankruptcy does not spell d-e-a-d-b-e-a-t.  In other words, filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana is not necessarily (and not even most of the time) the result of careless handling of one’s finances.  In fact, every one of us lawyers for bankruptcy in Indiana who works in any of the four Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices is used to seeing just the opposite: bad things happening to very good, very financially responsible people.

In order to provide the very latest Indiana bankruptcy information to readers and clients, as you know by now, I read a lot – journals, magazines, newsletters, websites, books – you name it. And, just two weeks ago, I happened on the most amazing headline in Investment News:  “CFP Board Eases Up on Advisers Who Go Bust.”

I really hope that, once you “get” what this headline means, you’re going to find it as reassuring and comforting as I did.  Why? Well, for one thing, the very last people you’d imagine would be irresponsible with money are financial planning professionals, especially those who’ve devoted years of extra study to earn the CFP® (Certified Financial Planner) mark in order to offer even more comprehensive and thorough advice to their clients.

Up until now, as one planner explained to one of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who is my colleague, if planners filed individual bankruptcy in Indiana (or small business bankruptcy in Indiana, for that matter), they would have lost their CFP® certification.

As you may imagine, someone like me who’s been offering Indiana bankruptcy help for 25 years would be gratified to learn that situation is about to change. The CFP Board realizes that everything from unexpected medical expenses, a spouse’s job loss, or divorce to a general business downturn can negatively affect even the most responsible and financial savvy individuals. (I know this very well as I work to help stop foreclosure for very good people!)

The latest proposal is that, while a CFP® certificant must report a bankruptcy, there will be no disciplinary proceedings for a first bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy in Indiana, as I’ve always stressed to clients, readers, and even to my own colleagues, was never designed to be an escape hatch for deadbeats.  Quite the contrary, the bankruptcy safety net is for situations “when bad things happen to good people”. I’m so glad the CFP® Board has come around to seeing the same thing!

Just two weeks ago, I gave Bankruptcy in Indiana readers a Mark Zuckerberg tip-off – a piece of Indiana bankruptcy information that had to do with a tax break.

I’ve been a debt consolidation lawyer practicing Indiana bankruptcy law for 25 years, but only in the last five of those years has there been this tax break when it comes to foreclosure.  To us in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices, the reason we're interested is that we Indiana bankruptcy attorneys have worked very hard, within the new bankruptcy laws of indiana, to help stop foreclosure on clients' homes.

Knowing how important it is to many single moms and parent couples to keep their children from having to change schools, we do our best to negotiate mortgage modifications.  But, as one of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who is my colleague puts it, there’s nothing simple about that process!

The other day I read in USA Today how every government program designed to help Americans keep their homes “has fallen far short of goals.”  HAMP, which was supposed to help 3-4 million people, has resulted in only 800,000 modifications.  One of my Bloomington  bankruptcy lawyer colleagues quoted the Federal Reserve Government officials, who plan on fining mortgage servicers because they’re doing such a poor job. We KNOW they are – our own efforts to help stop foreclosure are being met with lost paperwork and incompetent customer service. Very occasionally, the very fact that an attorney is involved helps hurry things along a bit.

The silver lining, though, is this tax break I’ve referred to.  Yes, Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Indiana can itself help stop foreclosure.  But, even in a worst-case scenario where a foreclosure cannot be prevented, the tax forgiveness which applies to mortgage debt during calendar years 2007-2012 only means that debt discharged through foreclosure (like debt discharged through bankruptcy Chapter 7 in Indiana or under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law) will not be considered taxable income.

In short, because of this temporary “break”, the combination of Indiana personal bankruptcy AND foreclosure in 2012 can increase the level of assets you’re allowed to keep.  The overall goal of bankruptcy in Indiana, remember, is for debtors to have a chance at a fresh financial start!

Not everyone qualifies to file under chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana. But, as BankruptcyAction.com points out, there are several reasons why people choose Chapter 13 over Chapter 7 when given the choice.  As for me, a debt consolidation lawyer offering Indiana bankruptcy help, whenever it’s important for a client to save a home and help stop foreclosure, I choose Chapter 13 bankruptcy as the perfect tool for the job.

Here are just a few of the situations when you as a debtor might opt for Chapter 13:

• You think it’s the “right thing to do”, to make every attempt to pay your own debts – you just need more time.
  
• You’re behind on your mortgage or car payments and need time to make up the missed payments without late fees and interest making that ever more impossible. This is one piece of bankruptcy information in Indiana I believe is so important to convey to consumers, and that’s why I keep coming back to this idea in these Bankruptcy in Indiana articles.
  
• You have valuable pieces of property (could be a home or it could be other property that is not exempt under bankruptcy Chapter 7 in Indiana).
  
• You filed a Chapter 7 within the past eight years.
  
• You have a big federal tax debt.

All of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who are my colleagues, along with the Indiana bankruptcy attorneys who work in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices in Indianapolis, Bloomington, and Anderson, Indiana use Chapter 13 to accomplish things that cannot be accomplished under bankruptcy Chapter 7 in Indiana.  Chapter 13 is sometimes referred to as the “bill consolidation: version of bankruptcy or the “wage earner’s bankruptcy plan”.  Under the new bankruptcy laws of Indiana, one of the main things that Chapter 13 accomplishes is saving homes. 

How does Chapter 13 help stop foreclosure? When you’re behind on house payments, sooner or later (unfortunately it’s usually sooner), your lender or mortgagor is going to take legal action to collect what you owe, or threaten to evict you from the house and take the property back.  If you can file individual bankruptcy in Indiana using Chapter 13 bankruptcy law, and if you do it prior to the sheriff’s sale of your home, the bankruptcy court can cancel your mortgage debt (this is particularly true of a second mortgage or home equity loan) or give you the opportunity to stop the foreclosure and make the missed back payments over time.

Can you see why, over my 25 years practicing Indiana bankruptcy law, I consider myself as part of the Chapter 13 home rescue squad?

At the four Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices, many of the questions we’re asked center around income and credit ratings. People are worried about the effect filing individual bankruptcy in Indiana might have on their credit score.

As a debt consolidation lawyer for 25 years, I've learned that many clients find it hard to believe - income basically isn’t even considered as part of a credit score! Lenders use credit scores, of course, to decide whether to loan money to you, and whether to charge you whatever the standard interest rate is at that time, or to charge more.

The FICO score developed by Fair Isaac program, depends on information Fair Isaac gathers from the three main credit bureaus, Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. The basic weighting formula is this:

• Payment history accounts for 35% of the rating.
  
• Length of credit history accounts for 15%.
  
• New credit, types of credit used, and debt totals account for 10% each.

As WorldBookandNews.com notes, “Income is not a factor”.

By contrast, as all good bankruptcy attorneys in Indiana know, income is a very big factor when it comes to filing bankruptcy, particularly if you’re filing under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana.  In offering bankruptcy services in Indiana, I need to be sure my clients have sufficient regular income coming in to make monthly debt repayments over a three to five year period of time.

Let’s face it – for most people who decide to seek Indiana bankruptcy help, their credit rating has probably already suffered. One of my Columbus bankruptcy lawyer colleagues often shocks clients by saying “Want to fix your credit?  Start with a bankruptcy!”  What she means is that filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana can turn out to be the first step in rebuilding credit, not overnight, to be sure, but over the next few years.

How can that be? Well, to put yourself in a position where you can demonstrate you’ll be able to pay back new loans, you must get rid of some of the debt you already have. Bankruptcy in Indiana helps you do that.  Bankruptcy Chapter 7 in Indiana, if you qualify, is the fastest way to get rid of unsecured debts. But even using the new Chapter 13 bankruptcy laws in Indiana, some of your debt can be forgiven, freeing you to devote your income to getting rid of the rest

Income may not directly affect your credit score, but when it comes right down to it, income is pretty important in rebuilding credit after emerging from bankruptcy in Indiana!

The IRS is having a sort of closeout sale in 2012, it seems to all of us bankruptcy attorneys in Indiana who work with clients to help stop foreclosure on their homes.  In fact, one lawyer for bankruptcy is posing the question, “Is bankruptcy your best investment?” Moran is alluding to the federal tax exclusion for cancellation of debt on foreclosures of principal residences, which is set to expire at the end of this year.

Let me go back to something I’ve explained in earlier Bankruptcy in Indiana articles:

• When someone forgives a debt you owe (meaning you don’t need to repay it), Uncle Sam considers that income, and charges you income tax on that amount just as if you’d earned it through working.
  
• As one of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who is my colleague explains to all her clients, bankruptcy has actually been one of the big exceptions to that rule, in that many debts that are discharged by the bankruptcy court are not subject to income tax.
  
• When the housing downturn became so serious, a new set of rules was put into place having to do with mortgages and foreclosures.  The way things work right now, when mortgage debt on a primary residence in canceled, either through the bank foreclosing on the home, through a mortgage modification, short sale, or deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure, that is NOT considered to be taxable income.

Perhaps, as you read this information, you may be thinking that by the time people get to the point of a foreclosure or of filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana, they are probably not in a very high tax bracket, so that forgiveness of taxes might be the last thing on their mind. As a longtime debt consolidation lawyer, I’d urge readers to think again. 

With real estate values having declined so sharply in recent years, many residents have mortgages larger than the resale value of their homes.  Think about the potential income taxes on, say, the $30,000 - $200,000 on a mortgage that is forgiven next year as opposed to this year, when the IRS forgiveness plan is still in place!

By way of providing useful Indiana bankruptcy information, I thought it crucial to explain that the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, put into place in December of 2007, applies to debt in calendar years 2007 - 2012 ONLY!

I’m certainly no tax accountant, and always refer clients to CPA’s when they need tax advice.  And, of course, no client would ever consider either bankruptcy or foreclosure as a “bargain” to be sought after.  But what attorney Moran was trying to express, I thing, is that, if filing individual bankruptcy in Indiana is in the cards, or if foreclosure on a primary residence seems inevitable, 2012 begins to look like a tax law ‘closeout sale”!

Sharing Indiana bankruptcy information sometimes involves using examples from other states.  And even though the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices serve only Hoosier debtors and their families, bankruptcy laws are constantly being refined as different situations come up across the country.

In fact, that’s one of the reasons all good bankruptcy attorneys in Indiana read professional journals.  The other day, one of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who is my colleague called my attention to an article in Consumer Bankruptcy News, about a bankruptcy court that dismissed a bankruptcy Chapter 7 case on the grounds that the couple did not qualify to file that kind of bankruptcy.

These debtors owed an awful lot of money - millions of dollars, actually, in unsecured debt.  The issue – they also had a lot of money coming in from their joint medical practice and lived a very high lifestyle (at least, in the judgment of the court). Since my goal in these Bankruptcy in Indiana articles is not only providing Indiana bankruptcy information, but also giving readers a better understanding of the whole idea behind the bankruptcy system, I thought this particular Michigan case would help in that regard.

As a longtime debt consolidation lawyer offering Indiana bankruptcy help, I realized right away that the couple in this real-life story, Dr. M. and Dr. A, had done several things “wrong”, which explains why the bankruptcy court rejected their petition.

• They didn’t disclose all the facts.  For instance, they did not put down in their bankruptcy paperwork that their medical practice provided them with two cars.  They didn’t tell the court about the $1000 per month payments they were making to support their niece.
  
• They didn’t show the court that they were trying to reduce spending. The bankruptcy judge noted that they needed to take steps to reduce their year expenditures, so that the money could go towards paying down their debt. 
  
• They mixed their business affairs with their personal affairs.  The debtors claimed that most of their debt was related to failed real estate investments, and that those were business debts. Therefore, they argued that they shouldn’t be expected to reduce their personal lifestyle to pay those debts.

As a longtime lawyer for small business bankruptcy in Indiana, I find this error in thinking is common.  There is no protection from creditors, no separation when it comes to legal matters (such as bankruptcy in Indiana)  when business owners mix their financial affairs with those of their business.

The court’s recommendation to the couple was that they reduce their personal spending by 50%, file a five year Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan that would pay their creditors at least a significant portion of what was owed.

You may or may not have ever attended a 341 Creditors’ Meeting, but I’ve got you beat.  In my 25 years as a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana, I’ve attended tens of thousands of them.

Any meeting held at a court house may seem scary to a first timer.  After all, the meeting involves taking an oath to tell the truth before answering questions about your personal finances. Even the name is intimidating, because the creditors in question are people and companies to whom you owe money!

Since one aspect of my work is preparing clients for these meetings as part of offering Indiana bankruptcy help, I can tell you that the process is surprisingly fast and smooth.  Many 341 meetings are over in less than half an hour and (most surprising of all to Indiana bankruptcy filers), in most cases the creditors themselves don’t bother showing up!

All the Indiana bankruptcy attorneys who work in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices have had the same experience – showing up for a creditors’ meeting and finding no creditors there!  So, who IS there? Well the meeting is run by a court-approved bankruptcy trustee (typically a local attorney employed by the court).  You’re there, and your attorney is there.  If you’ve filed bankruptcy jointly with your spouse, then he or she is there along with you.  If it’s a small business bankruptcy in Indiana and you have partners in that business, they would come to the meeting as well.

The trustee asks you questions about the bankruptcy documents I’ve helped prepare, detailing your assets, your income, your financial obligations, and your debts. 

Have you read the document?  Is everything correct on it? Have you listed all your creditors?  Are you expecting any sort of prize, cash award, or inheritance?  Have you given away assets within the past six months? 

If creditors’ have come to the meeting, they are allowed to ask you questions as well.

Once the trustee if satisfied that all the information is in your documents and that you’ve answered truthfully, the meeting is over and the first stage of the bankruptcy process is complete.

If you’re a handyman (or woman), you know how important it is to use the right tool for the right job. Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana is a tool designed to help stop foreclosure.

Do you go straight for that tool at the very first sign of a problem keeping up with your mortgage? Of course not.  This is my 25th year as a debt consolidation lawyer offering Indiana bankruptcy help.  You can be sure that, especially in recent years, every one of the Indiana bankruptcy attorneys who works in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices tries negotiation first. 

In fact, ever since the beginning of the housing downturn, we’ve all become experts in negotiating mortgage modifications.  When that process has proven unsuccessful (with most of the problems being on the creditors’ end, not ours!), it’s only then we reach for the blockbuster tool which Chapter 13 bankruptcy represents.

Just like bankruptcy Chapter 7 Indiana, filing under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law immediately triggers the Automatic Stay, putting a halt to almost all collections efforts and legal actions against you (child support , tax and legal obligations are examples of exceptions to this rule).

The reasons Chapter 13 is the perfect tool to help stop foreclosure, and the reason that I, a longtime bankruptcy lawyer in Indiana always explore this possibility with clients who want to file personal bankruptcy in Indiana  include:

Chapter 13, as Bankruptcy action.com explains, consists of a debt repayment plan.  In most cases, foreclosure is put off while the homeowner works out a plan to catch up with the back payments over time (three to five years).

One other aspect of Indiana bankruptcy imformation it's important to share is that other, unsecured, debts can be discharged (forgiven) under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law, freeing up money to keep up the payments on the mortgage.

If there is a second mortgage or home equity loan, but the home is “underwater”, meaning there’s more money owed than the home is worth on the market, the second mortgage might be discharged through bankruptcy.   As the Bloomington and Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work with me point out, that takes a lot of pressure off the homeowner!

If you’re a handyman, knowing your neighbor has a problem and knowing you’ve got just the right tool to help him fix that problem, you’d want to tell him or her, right? You can readily understand, then, why an Indianapolis lawyer for bankruptcy like me wants to pass along this information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy – the perfect tool to help stop foreclosure!

“While other businesses struggle to stay afloat, the debt-settlement industry is flourishing,” notes SmartMoney.com. It should come as no surprise to regular Bankruptcy in Indiana readers that, as a debt consolidation lawyer, I’d say all that flourishing comes at the expense of people who can least afford the additional pain and financial worry.

As bankruptcy attorneys in Indiana, all the lawyers who work in all four Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices see the aftermath of what SmartMoney correctly calls the “hefty price” of debt settlements, with fees often running into thousands of dollars.  In fact, SmartMoney cites an example of someone with a $50,000 debt load who was charged as much as $10,000 in fees. “Those fees need to be paid before the consumer can start paying off the settlement itself,” points out the reporter. 

After 25 years offering Indiana bankruptcy help, including bankruptcy Chapter 7 in Indiana, Chapter 13 bankruptcy and small business bankruptcy in Indiana, I’ve seen more than my share of clients who, after paying those hundreds and even thousands of dollars in fees, were unable to complete the debt settlement program and ended up filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana anyway (which would have been the less costly and quicker solution from the start!).

By way of providing importantIndiana bankruptcy information, I wanted to share one very important judgment SmartMoney offered:  Besides the loss of money and time, debt settlement entails a real risk.

“Since debt settlement companies instruct consumers to stop paying their bills while they’re saving for a settlement, their balances continue to swell with interest and late fees and credit scores plummet.  In order to get paid, creditors may even sue.”

One of my Columbus bankruptcy attorney colleagues becomes especially enraged on behalf of her clients when she learns that they’ve been charged debt settlement fees without the banks or credit card companies who are their creditors having promised to settle anything!

“Debt settlement is sometimes confused with debt consolidation, in which borrowers are offered one big loan to pay off their smaller debts,” says Money.msn.com. “But debt settlement is a different animal.  Instead of offering a loan or repayment plan, debt settlement companies typically advise their clients to stop paying their bills and instead save up cash, which the company then will use to negotiate lump-sum settlements,” continues Money.msn.

As I’ve seen over and over again in my Indiana bankruptcy law practice, the creditors are not holding their breath or waiting politely for that settlement negotiation to take place.  In the true story highlighted by Money.msn, for example, the debtor was receiving what he called “brutal calls” every 15 minutes!

The fact is, only bankruptcy comes with an Automatic Stay.  Only bankruptcy stops those brutal phone calls cold and halts legal actions against a debtor.  Whether it’s bankruptcy Chapter 7 in Indiana or Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana we’re talking about, the bottom line is that only bankruptcy buys time to breathe!

Far too often, debt settlement does nothing but make matters worse!  Whether you need help to stop foreclosure or just help to stop creditors from calling or your wages from being garnished, individual bankruptcy in Indiana is the best tool for making a fresh financial start!

“When someone promises to ‘eliminate your debt’ I can only guess that they are one of three things: a bankruptcy attorney, a sugar daddy, or someone who is convinced they have magical powers,” says financial planner Ken Clark, author of The Complete idiot’s Guide to Getting Out of Debt.

I couldn’t agree more. My 25 years’ experience as a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana have made me extremely leery of debt settlement agencies in general.

Last week alone, at least four couples and individuals came into to the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices to seek help filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana.  After months of working with a debt settlement agency, the very sad fact is that every one of these people was unsuccessful in staving off bankruptcy.  By waiting, each had spent a lot of money in debt settlement fees, all with the goal of avoiding bankruptcy.  That money is gone, along with some of their options, and the result is that the only viable path for them to regain their financial independence is – and always was – seeking relief under the new bankruptcy laws of Indiana!

“Although some organizations offer valuable assistance, they’re also allied with creditors and have an institutional bias against bankruptcy, even when it’s in your best interest,” claim James P. and John M. Caher, authors of Personal Bankruptcy Laws for Dummies, adding that "Although credit counselors may appear to be independent, many are on creditors’ payrolls, so their interests are at odds with yours. Debt consolidators, offering to replace your many monthly bills with a single “low-interest, easy payment loan,” make you believe you can get out of debt by borrowing more money.

It’s so ironic, all of us good lawyers for bankruptcy in Indiana who work in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices agree, that just when someone is in the worst possible frame of mind to make an informed decision among all the different kinds of financial help being offered, is precisely when they’re forced to make that very decision!  What results, as my Columbus bankruptcy lawyer colleague wryly remarks, is that people arrive at our office with creditors literally breathing down their necks!   You know how there are shelters for battered women? Well, sometimes  our office has the feel of a shelter for battered debtors!

Can debt really be “settled”, consolidated, reduced, and “eliminated” the way some of these ads are promising? I’d like to remind Bankruptcy in Indiana readers of one important fact:

ONLY lawyers can offer legal advice, and ONLY legal advice can help debtors deal with wage garnishment, help stop foreclosure, and defend judgments.

Post-bankruptcy, “American Airlines continues to operate flights, honor tickets, and take reservations.” explains the Associated Press. The reporter might have been talking about people who’ve filed personal bankruptcy in Indiana, as much as about a giant airline. Despite the many bankruptcy myths that circulate about how life will be interrupted by filing individual bankruptcy in Indiana, the truth is that life mostly goes on as usual, just without all the pressures that led up to the bankruptcy.

By the way, none of us who work in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices was very surprised to learn about American Airlines. Remember that Delta, United, Continental, and U.S. Air have all gone through Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy.

Of course, despite my being a longtime debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy information in Indiana, I’ve never had a mega- corporation such as American Airlines as a client.  As I study the news, however, I’m always struck by the similarities to the stories of small business bankruptcy in Indiana and even the stories of couples, of single moms, of service veterans, and young and old people who take advantage of the safety net offered to them by the new Indiana bankruptcy laws.

At the same time, as my colleague the Columbus bankruptcy lawyer reminds me, all of us who provide bankruptcy services in Indiana are keenly aware that there is bound to be a “ripple effect” whenever a large company files bankruptcy.  According to the Ft. Worth, Texas Star Telegram, “Economists, academics…and industry consultants are relatively unworried about how the airline’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization will affect the broader Fort Worth-Arlington economy and the airport in particular.”

Still, as the newspaper reporter points out, AMR has long been the country’s largest employer, and “the airline’s employees and retirees are likely to be among the first to feel the consequences of bankruptcy.” The government’s Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. said last week that it expects to pay about $17 billion of the company’s $18 billion in promised retirement benefits.

On the surface, that sounds pretty good.  But, after 15 years offering Indiana bankruptcy help, I know that missing $1 billion is going to create a hardship for many retirees who are already financial stretched and need help to stop foreclosure on their homes, which have lost a lot of value.  Every day in my Indianapolis bankruptcy law office, I’m seeing folks who are having a hard time surviving financially in retirement, as the value of their homes declines and their healthcare and other expenses continue to rise. Of course, if they need student loan debt help as well, that makes the situation even more difficult.

For many years, as other airlines filed bankruptcy, some more than once, American Airlines resisted going down that path. Fortunately, the company did not wait until its problems got totally out of control; the airline has $4.1 billion to keep running while it restructures its debt.

The lesson for Bankruptcy in Indiana readers from Mark Zuckerberg is this: Seek professional help at the first signs of financial trouble.  Take a tip from American Airlines; by acting when they did, the company kept their options open, doors that would have closed had they continued to put off taking positive action.

The Veterans’ Day parade is over, along with the free meals for veterans from area restaurants and the playing of the “Armed Forces Medley” at concerts and business gatherings. The challenges facing veterans when it comes to finding jobs – now, that’s another story, as every bankruptcy attorney in Indiana well knows.

“As servicemembers return from Iraq and Afghanistan, they face a tough job market,” reports
Marisol Bello of USA Today. 

I was discussing this very issue the other day with the Anderson, Bloomington, Indianapolis, and Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices.  I realized that we’re all encountering veterans who, because of lack of a steady income, have reached the point where they need help filing bankruptcy Chapter 7 in Indiana, or even need payday loan debt help. 

The Indianapolis Star reported that homelessness takes a heavier toll on vets, who, once they become homeless, are more likely to stay homeless for longer periods than non-veterans.  Veterans are also more likely to suffer from serious health conditions. As a longtime Indianapolis lawyer for bankruptcy who offers Indiana bankruptcy information, I was happy to learn that the Senate has approved a bill that offers tax credits to businesses that hire unemployed veterans and also provides dollars for retraining older unemployed veterans.

Of the three leading causes for individual bankruptcy in Indiana - divorce, medical bills, and joblessness - the latter two hit veterans especially hard.  Often, veterans of the military suffer from medical conditions and even physical or mental disability, presenting an extra challenge when it comes to employment, along with extra medical costs.

In my Bankruptcy in Indiana articles, I’ve highlighted some of the special exceptions provided for service members in the new bankruptcy laws of Indiana, as well as special programs our own Lilly Endowment put in place four years ago to help returning Indiana veterans.

Handling medical costs, finding well-paying employment, finding good housing, and managing debt repayment are issues for all the clients of any lawyer for bankruptcy in Indiana.  But veterans deserve extra assistance making a fresh financial start after serving our country!

The city of Vallejo, California has just emerged from a three year bankruptcy process.  As I’ve been telling my Bankruptcy in Indiana readers, when a city or county files bankruptcy, it’s not the same as individual bankruptcy in Indiana.  Yet, it many ways, it’s similar.

It’s actually one of the differences that I want to discuss today.  I was showing my Columbus bankruptcy lawyer colleagues an article published in the Huffington Post, saying that Vallejo’s Chapter 9 bankruptcy proceedings had “cast a stigma on the city”.  Real estate agents were required to disclose the city’s status to buyers, and investment advisors needed to point out the bankruptcy status to bond investors.  The national media were writing stories about Vallejo as a caution for other cash-strapped cities.  In short, it seemed as if “everybody knew”!

Now in all of the twenty five years I’ve been a debt consolidation lawyer offering Indiana bankruptcy information, the one fear that keeps coming up concerning personal bankruptcy in Indiana is that “everybody will know!”  But unlike the case in municipal bankruptcy, the usual situation is that nobody but you, your lawyer for bankruptcy in Indiana, the bankruptcy judge, and your credit card companies will know.
 
And as far as bankruptcy being a “stigma”, take it from me, Mark Zuckerbeerg, someone who has brought Indiana bankruptcy help to literally tens of thousands of individuals – the new bankruptcy laws of Indiana are based on a system created by your U.S. congress specifically to help stop foreclosure and to help good, honest, hard-working people make a fresh financial start.

It’s all the tension and the worry and the collection efforts that are the stigma; bankruptcy is the beginning of the beginning.  A municipality’s’ Chapter 9 bankruptcy may be the stuff of news, but, in the case of bankruptcy Chapter 7 in Indiana or Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana, it’s not news-making when you’re one of many thousands making a new financial start!

When a city or county files bankruptcy, it’s not the same as when a restaurant owner files small business bankruptcy in Indiana, or when an individual in our state files personal bankruptcy in Indiana.  No, it’s not the same, but, in many ways, it’s similar.

In all of the twenty five years I’ve been a debt consolidation lawyer offering Indiana bankruptcy help, there’s never been a provision for a city or town to file Chapter 9 bankruptcy in our state. There are two reasons I began, back in 2008, to write about municipal bankruptcy in these Bankruptcy in Indiana articles.  One of those reasons is that I wish municipal bankruptcy were allowed here and I would like to be involved in that type of work if ever that does come to pass.

A more important reason, though, is the similarities.  There are just enough similarities so that readers and clients seeking Indiana bankruptcy information can better understand the whole bankruptcy process and the principles behind it, just from following the news story.

Take the recent news about Vallejo, California, which has just emerged from the bankruptcy that I first mentioned three years ago.  Is everything just hunky-dory with Vallejo?  Of course not.  Bankruptcy – in Indiana, in California, or anywhere – is no miracle cure.  But are things better for the city?  Definitely.  “Declaring bankruptcy gave the city protection from creditors and allowed it to renegotiate its employee contracts,” explains the San Francisco Chronicle.

As one of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who works in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices puts it – municipal bankruptcy forced Vallejo to create a more realistic budget.  Five fire stations needed to be closed and funding had to be reduced for some senior centers and library branches.  Some public works projects needed to be postponed.  Is that pleasant to do? Of course not, but, just as in individual bankruptcy in Indiana, Vallejo’s bankruptcy bought time for it to work out a budget that is more sustainable.

At the Mark Zuckerberg law practice, I’ve developed a saying: “To fix your credit, start with a bankruptcy.” Nothing ever gets better by ignoring the problems.  Bankruptcy in Indiana, just as it’s proving to be in California, marks a beginning – a fresh start, and a fresh budget.

The other day, I shared with Bankruptcy in Indiana readers that on Nov. 1 of this year, some new numbers went into effect.  The changes in fees for filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana will affect clients of the four Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices, all of which are in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Southern District of Indiana.

There are some other changes, though, that may have even greater an effect on Hoosiers. Those numbers have to do with the definition of “income” for the bankruptcy means test for both bankruptcy Chapter 7 in Indiana and for cases filed under chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana.

The means test is used to determine whether you qualify for a Chapter 7, and, if not, whether your Chapter 13 debt repayment plan will include a three or a five year period.  The new numbers are based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics about the median income for each area of our country, and they make it at least a little more difficult to qualify.

One of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who is a Mark Zuckerberg colleague pointed out just one example: Prior to Nov. 1, a household of three needed to average $59,028 or less in income per year in order to qualify to file individual bankruptcy in Indiana using bankruptcy Chapter 7.  With the new numbers, if income is $57,696 or more, that debtor will need to look at filing under Chapter 13.  In other words, the requirements for filing bankruptcy in Indiana are getting more than a tad bit more challenging.

Of course, having served as a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana for twenty five years, I can reassure you that none of this new information is either surprising or daunting to me.  It’s all just part of keeping the bankruptcy system in tune with the real world of prices, and of treating all parties, both debtors and creditors, fairly.

It’s become routine: the numbers for Indiana bankruptcy change twice a year, in March and November, tracking government statistics. Practicing Indiana bankruptcy law, after all, is about two things: numbers and people.  And, whether we’re working on a mortgage modification to help stop foreclosure, offering payday loan debt help and student loan debt help, or taking clients through the process of filing small business bankruptcy in Indiana, we bankruptcy attorneys have to be good in both those areas (people and numbers).  In describing myself, I’d say "Mark Zuckerberg is a people person, but also a numbers guy!"

Twenty five years in practice as a debt consolidation lawyer offering Indiana bankruptcy help, I learned, may have been dangerous to my health – my emotional health, that is. It seems that just this fall, an informal survey of National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney members revealed that, like most mental health professionals, most lawyers for bankruptcy – in Indiana and elsewhere - suffer from compassion fatigue.

Compassion fatigue is a form of physical, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion that especially affects those in the helping professions – doctors, caregivers, and…bankruptcy attorneys!  “Compassion-fatigued physicians, observes John-Henry Pfiffering, PhD, continue to give fully to their patients, finding it difficult to main a healthy balance of empathy and objectivity.”

Actually, I doubt if any of the good bankruptcy attorneys who work in the four Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices spend much time thinking about the “hazards” of compassion.  We’re focused on the type of fatigue we see in the people who turn to us for help.  It’s interesting that another survey, this one by the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, revealed that people in financial trouble have a terrible sense of isolation, and their worry and tension over money troubles negatively affects their health.

Four years ago, when I decided to write these Bankruptcy in Indiana articles, I hoped to accomplish several things

• To prove that while life can be brutal, filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana need not be brutal at all.
  
• I wanted to reach people who need to do something about their debt situation, but who’d been paralyzed by fear and misinformation.
  
• I wanted to get across my ideas about the way clients who need Indiana debt help ought to be treated (compassion plays a big role here!)
  
• With hundreds of thousands of small businesses in Indiana, I wanted to help business owners stop blaming themselves and help them change direction through small business bankruptcy in Indiana.
  
• To alert readers to scams so that they could protect themselves. 
  
• To direct readers to the right government agencies and to sources of useful advice and help.
  
• To help stop foreclosure by raising awareness about mortgage modification programs.
  
  
  I must confess that, when one of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who is my colleague first showed me the article about compassion fatigue, I realized that it too often happens these days, that clients don’t have enough compassion for US!  It seems some clients have a sense of entitlement, even going so far as to treat my staff members poorly.

But, you know what? If compassion fatigue is part of this job, well, that’s just how it is.  After all, I declared 25 years ago that I and everyone who works in my office will first and foremost be good listeners and that we will "be there” for people, really hearing their concerns. I haven’t changed my mind about that.

No matter how many years pass, no matter how much student loan debt help we give, no matter how much payday loan debt help we offer, no matter how many tens of thousands of bankruptcy Chapter 7 cases or Chapter 13 bankruptcies we file, compassion and courtesy will be what you can expect to find with Mark Zuckerberg!

The fear that if you file personal bankruptcy in Indiana, “everyone will know” is based on a common bankruptcy myth. When it comes to politicians, now, that may not be a myth after all!

When Chris Tibbs filed bankruptcy Chapter 7 in the state of Washington six years ago, only the closest friends with whom he chose to share the information (and Tibbs’ attorney for bankruptcy, of course) knew anything about it. No one was really interested. It’s only now, because Tibbs is a political candidate for the office of Kitsap County commissioner, that the story of his earlier bankruptcy is making headlines.

At the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices, questions about publicity arise all the time, but in actual fact, it’s very rare for anyone’s individual bankruptcy in Indiana to be of interest to anyone beyond that person’s creditors. That means that if you don’t want everyone to know you’ve filed, you need do nothing more than keep the information to yourself!  To a great degree, the same holds true for small business bankruptcy in Indiana. 

In fact, the Chris Tibbs bankruptcy in Washington State was related to a small business, a coffee stand business, for which Tibbs purchased supplies with personal credit cards. Because Tibbs borrowed money in his own name, and since he did not establish a corporation, he had no protection of his personal assets against creditors’ claims.

That brings me to a second myth that I’ve frequently encountered over the 25 years I’ve been a debt consolidation lawyer offering Indiana bankruptcy help – the myth of the “corporate veil”. One of my Columbus bankruptcy lawyer colleague says she sees this a lot - clients who believe they can file small business bankruptcy in Indiana without also filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana. If, unlike Tibbs, they had a corporation, they ask, why can’t they keep their personal finances out of the corporate bankruptcy? They don't need help to stop foreclosure, they don't need student loan debt help, and certainly not payday loan debt help, they say.  So what does their business have to do with their personal affairs?

Here's why their business has a lot to do with their personal affairs:

• They guaranteed business loans or lines of credit with their personal assets.
  
• They put personal money into their business, including money taken out as home equity loans.
  
• They withdrew money from their business for personal use.
  
• They signed contracts and agreements for the business in their own name.

Some clients give away their own privacy.  And some business owner clients pierce their own corporate veil!

As any good bankruptcy attorney in Indiana can tell you, one of the biggest fears surrounding filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana is this:   EVERYONE WILL KNOW!  In other words, it’s the fear of having our privacy compromised that unfortunately deters many people from making use of the safety net provided through individual and small business bankruptcy in Indiana.

The reality about bankruptcy is, (as tends to be the case with most myths), very different. Unless you happen to be a very prominent person, the chances are very high that the only people who will know you’ve filed individual bankruptcy in Indiana will be the ones you tell!
At the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices, we know that, whether you need help to stop foreclosure, payday loan debt help or perhaps even student loan debt help, you don't need to allow the myth of "people knowing" stop you from getting the help you need.

Awhile back in these Bankruptcy in Indiana articles, I told the true story of a woman whose car was towed, ending up with a credit collection company requesting a credit report on her. Since there was no credit transaction going on at the time, only Maria herself had the right to request a credit report, and she was able to sue both the collection agency and the credit bureau for violating her privacy rights.  Point being, all the privacy laws that were the basis for Maria’s lawsuits will continue to protect you through the process of filing (either bankruptcy Chapter 7 in Indiana or under the Chapter 13 bankruptcy laws in Indiana), as well as afterwards.

What made me particularly think about privacy issues relating to bankruptcy is a story that one of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers showed me, written by a guy named Ced Kurtz who calls himself TechMan.  The title of the article is “Bankruptcy can compromise your privacy.”  

Now, Kurtz wasn’t contradicting any of the things I’ve just finished saying about an individual’s privacy rights in the process of filing bankruptcy in Indiana – or elsewhere.  He was talking about the Borders book stores’ corporate bankruptcy. Kurtz explained that Borders’ assets were put up for auction to pay off creditors, with one of those assets being its customer lists, including credit card information.  He was concerned that, in transferring the Borders assets to a buyer, customers’ information might be compromised.  The Federal Trade Commission apparently agreed, dictating that customers need to sign individual consent forms before their information could be transferred.  Meanwhile, Kurtz urges you and me to pay attention – and opt out of any transfer of our information.

So, while each of us needs to be careful to protect our own privacy, the laws, including the new bankruptcy laws of Indiana, are out to do exactly that for us!