Next to questions about how to help stop foreclosure and (especially in this season of the year) tax refunds, I would say that as a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana, the topic I get asked about most  is cars.

When someone is dropped off at the Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law office because they don't have a car (the Anderson, Bloomington, and Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in my offices there say exactly the same thing), that person is typically in an immediate and very real bind.  If the car's been repossessed, I may have some hopeful news to share.  According to Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana, if you file before their automobile has been sold, the creditor has to give the car back immediately.

Generally speaking, the new bankruptcy laws in Indiana are designed not to punish, but to rehabilitate. In other words, the whole idea behind the bankruptcy system is to offer honest debtors a chance at a fresh financial start. The court recognizes that the lack of a driver's license can interfere with a person's chances for that fresh start.

Much of the time when clients talk to me about problems relating to their driver's license having been yanked, it's because they have unpaid tickets, unpaid fines, or unpaid automobile damages.  These debts might not even have to do with bad driving or accidents, but might be due to parking violations or equipment violations (noisy mufflers, bald tires, or broken headlights and such). Sometimes they don't have the money to pay because they're out of a job and, needless to say, can't go on a job search without a car!  Again, in this situation, I might have hopeful news.  Assuming there are not criminal charges against the debtor, Chapter 13 bankruptcy  law might offer a chance to get the driver's license back the next day.

Now, if the problem started with an accident resulting in damages over $1000, or you commit a moving violation, the situation is more serious.  You have forty days to submit proof of financial responsibility (insurance) to the state police. (If you can't do that, you're liable for paying the damages outright or for working out an installment plan to pay).  As part of the Indiana bankruptcy help I provide, we would send proof of your bankruptcy filing to the motor vehicle licensing department.

I've been offering Indiana bankruptcy help for almost twenty five years.  I know how big a problem it is not to have wheels.  I know the bus doesn't go anywhere near your job, and how difficult it is to make job interviews when you don't have transportation.  I know that, without a car, you've no way to get family members to the doctor or pharmacy. That's why, if you've been dropped off at one of the Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices, you've come to the right place.  You've got problems having to do with your car and your license to drive it, and you're seeking experienced legal help.

Just as I said a year ago in this Indiana bankruptcy blog, bankruptcy and child support issues are joined at the hip. In fact, under the new bankruptcy laws of Indiana, as part of the bankruptcy process, the court trustee must notify state child support enforcement agencies so they can participate in the case.

I provide bankruptcy information in Indiana, and I often remind clients that as a general rule, child support obligations are not going to go away as a result of filing bankruptcy.  Bankruptcy can help, though, in one of two ways:
 

• Under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana, bankruptcy buys time to catch up with back child support payments by spreading them out over the course of a three to five year debt repayment plan.
• If other debts can be discharged in bankruptcy, that frees up dollars for the child support.

Now it looks as if the law is about to go even further in terms of making sure parents live up to their child support obligations. Just weeks ago, the Indiana House's Public Policy Committee unanimously approved a bill forcing Indiana casinos to check a database of "deadbeat" parents and refuse to pay out winning to any person on that list who is behind more than $2000 on child support.  In talks the Indiana Casino Association had with state government, it was agreed that the casino was allowed to charge between $15 and $100 for each individual that falls in that category.

The Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices in that city and I agree: many of our clients are single parents, struggling to support their children. They depend on the support checks to help pay for child care so they can work. Even though the new system will probably be an inconvenience for the casino operators, it's worth trying to keep those child support payments flowing.

I read an interesting view about the new casino legislation (which has not yet been finalized into law) by the editor of a  blog called Pic-A-Group, who suggests barring deadbeat parents from casino gambling altogether, so that they don't gamble away money that needs to go towards child support.

I haven't involved myself in that particular political discussion.  What I have found, though,
as I continue to offer Indiana bankruptcy help, is that most of my clients who are noncustodial parents try very hard to keep up with their obligations.  But with many the victims of downsizing and job layoffs, those parents, despite wanting to help their own children, need help themselves!

All the politicians, all the radio talk show hosts, all the newspaper reporters, magazine writers, bloggers and television news anchors – they’re all talking about jobs and so am I, along with the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices there. There is commentary about the jobless claims rate, the unemployment statistics, the job stimulus programs, the expansions, the closings, the hiring, and the layoffs. 

Everyone “gets the picture” by now, and everyone knows that times aren’t really going to be good again until the jobs are.  Thankfully, at least according to an RTT News report, there are some glimmers of hope on the horizon - first time jobless claims have begun to “fall more than expected.”

As a debt consolidation lawyer and bankruptcy attorney in Indiana, I know the term “jobless claims” refers to the number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time. Wall Street commentators had expected January claims to drop by 15,000 nationally; instead, there were 43,000 fewer claims, with the month’s total being 440,000 nationwide. This is the lowest level we’ve seen in a year and a half, so that’s good, although we have a long way to go. Knowing only too well that, even with the Indiana bankruptcy help I provide, without a supply of good jobs, my clients cannot keep up with their debt repayment plans according to Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana, I do my best to stay on top of every bit of news having to do with jobs in our state.

• RV maker Jayco is expanding in Middlesbury, creating 75 new jobs.
• WNDU-TV in South Bend expects to hire 50 new workers.
• Living Essentials in Wabash is expanding its energy drink company, creating up to 36 new jobs.

I wish all the news were positive, but I did hear a big negative item out of Ft. Wayne: The Fort Wayne Foundry Corporation is closing its plant in Columbia City, leaving 114 people out of work.  Still, the net numbers are turning in a positive direction.  According to WSCI Radio in Columbus, "Indiana is bucking the national trend with three straight months of declining unemployment.”

Meanwhile, I and my colleagues keep on working, offering payday loan debt help, negotiating with lenders to help stop foreclosure,  offering relief to the thousands and thousands of people drowning in financial problems that began with job loss.

As a debt consolidation lawyer and Indianapolis  bankruptcy attorney, I've always found foreclosure to be closely linked with bankruptcy.  Of course, legally speaking, these two issues are governed by two totally different sets of laws, but what I mean is this: when clients turn to me for help with financial problems, the threat of foreclosure on their home is invariably one topic they want to discuss along with exploring bankruptcy in Indiana.

If you've been reading my bankruptcy blog for the past few years, you know that my colleagues, the Anderson, Bloomington, Indianapolis, and Columbus bankruptcy lawyers in the Mark Zuckerberg law offices and I all help stop foreclosure by negotiating mortgage modifications.  I've been following closely all the different federal stimulus programs that help homeowners remain in their homes.

The latest program I read about actually isn't coming from the federal government, but from a private financial institution.  Citigroup announced two weeks ago a pilot program called Foreclosure Alternatives.  This program will not originally be available here in Indiana, only in Texas, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, and Ohio, where a combined 1,000 homeowners are expected to participate.  Then, depending upon the results, the program may be expanded to other states, including ours.

As part of providing bankruptcy information in Indiana, I often use the expression "buying time" when discussing bankruptcy, meaning time to organize a plan for handling debt.  The Citi plan offers time to homeowners threatened by foreclosure.  In a foreclosure, the lender takes control of the property and evicts the homeowner, usually within a few days. This foreclosure alternative plan is a form of deed in lieu of foreclosure, because Citigroup, the lender, takes control of the deed.  If no settlement is arrived at, homeownesr might still need to leave their homes, but:
 

• The program "buys" six months of additional planning time
• There is a less severe "hit" to the homeowner's credit report than a foreclosure might cause
• Citi is offering $1000 is relocation costs plus relocation counseling

Foreclosure alternatives are one form of "buying time", and buying time can mean getting help!

As someone who's offered bankruptcy services in Indiana for almost twenty-five years, I tell myself I've seen it all.  But, for those who haven't, I feel compelled periodically to use my Indiana bankruptcy blog to prevent them from becoming fraud victims.

The Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices there agree - we've all found this to be an unfortunate truth: Scamsters tend to "hang around" wherever bankruptcy "lives". The first reason for that is that often, in a frantic attempt to stave off bankruptcy, debtors will look for any straw to grasp, and end up looking for help in all the wrong places, to paraphrase the old song about looking for love. That has been especially true during this economic downturn, with so many having lost jobs and medical insurance coverage.

Pre-bankruptcy predators include some payday lenders and some debt settlement agencies, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. There are "credit repair" scams, "debt consolidation" scams, mortgage modification scams, and foreclosure prevention scams to watch out for in addition to outright identity theft through stolen credit cards and IDs. People who are in financial trouble but who have not sought the advice of a bankruptcy attorney in Indiana tend to be the ones most vulnerable to believing there just might be a "quick fix" to their problems.

Financial planner Ken Clark, author of Getting Out of Debt, warns debtors against "Nigerian 419" scams (email request to help get money from Nigeria into the U.S., by accepting money into your own bank account in exchange for a handsome share of the money) and "Chain Letter" scams (email scam asking you to forward money to the sender and then invite 8-12 of your friends to do the same. The idea is for you to keep part of the money and forward on the rest, a modern version of an old type of pyramid scheme).

Some very innocent-appearing scam comes in the form of offers for a "free" credit report.  In order to get the report, you have to enter your credit card account number, which opens the door to identity theft.  Even in cases where an actually credit report is sent, sometimes charges begin appearing on your credit card account because somewhere in the "fine print" you agreed to that.  As a debt consolidation lawyer in Indiana, I'm constantly reminding my clients and bankruptcy blog readers - the only truly free reports come from the credit bureaus themselves.

The scamsters love to hang around even after bankruptcy has been processed! Post-bankruptcy predators offer low-balance credit cards to debtors emerging from bankruptcy, sometimes with activation and membership fees that push borrowers over their credit limits before they've really had a chance to use the card! Other scams masquerade as "credit rebuilding services". 

I've spent my entire career  as a offering Indiana bankruptcy help, even helping to craft the new bankruptcy laws in Indiana.  It really bothers me when so many debtors fall prey to scams when legitimate help is available through the bankruptcy safety net.  I'm doing all I can to spread awareness about scams and scamsters, hoping every debtor gets the message in time.

 

Barry Corbin's name is not nearly as well-known as Nicholas Cage's, but Corbin just joined the list of celebrities who've filed bankruptcy. Far from rejoicing that another of the rich and famous is suffering from financial setbacks, I talk about stars' troubles only for purposes of illustrating how the bankruptcy safety net works.

Needless to say, as a bankruptcy attorney in Indiana, I must observe client confidentiality for the tens of thousands of clients whom I've helped with filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana, as well as for the thousands of clients who have filed small business bankruptcy in Indiana. When there's already a story in the news about a celebrity bankruptcy, by contrast, I am permitted to comment in my bankruptcy blog posts.

Barry Corbin, you might remember, was "Uncle Bob" to John Travolta in the movie Urban Cowboy, and played on TV in both the Dallas and Police Academy series.
It's interesting that just a year ago, I was writing about Michael Vick filing bankruptcy and using that news story to illustrate the different steps in the bankruptcy process, including the Creditors' Meeting.  Then, just a couple of months ago I was writing blog posts about Nicholas Cage filing bankruptcy, and, from my vantage point as a debt consolidation lawyer and someone who's been offering Indiana bankruptcy help for almost a quarter century,  analyzing some of the factors that led to that actor's troubles.

One factor common in all three of these celebrity bankruptcy stories is real estate.  When discussing Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana, I always explain that foreclosure and bankruptcy are two separate legal processes, even though in most client situations, both seem to play a part in the financial troubles.
 

• In the Michael Vick case, one of the biggest assets that was put up for auction in order to pay creditors was a luxury home he owned in Atlanta.
• Nicholas Cage had already lost two homes in New Orleans to foreclosure and needed to sell other properties at a big discount to raise money to pay creditors.
• Barry Corbin is trying to reduce costs by selling his home in Texas, using the proceeds to pay creditors.

In all three cases, the fact that real estate values have dropped has delayed the sale of the homes.  The drop in home prices is affecting many Indiana residents who are trying to downsize and keep their bills paid, but who are being forced to consider bankruptcy.

A second factor, tax debt, played a part with Nicholas Cage, but doesn't appear to be the issue with Barry Corbin. (According to Forbes, Nicholas Cage owes more than $800,000 in back taxes and penalties.)

The thing about the Barry Corbin case that really resonated with me (in fact, I was discussing this very thing the other day with the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Mark Zuckerberg law offices there) is something Corbin's lawyer said about the reason Corbin needed to file bankruptcy:

"The types of movies that he is used to making, they are not making anymore."

In the course of my work as an Indianapolis bankruptcy attorney, it's very, very rare that I deal with a celebrity case.  The vast majority of my Indiana bankruptcy clients are everyday working people and small business owners. When most of these business owners first seek my help, they admit they are upset and even ashamed that their businesses are in trouble. Yet, as I learn more about their stories, I usually find these troubles were caused by changes in their industry that were beyond their control.

Things change, even when we most wish they would remain the same. Sometimes, they're "just not making them any more!"  That's when good people need society's help in the form of bankruptcy to give them a fresh financial start.

Two law school professors have concluded that the bankruptcy system in our country is far from functioning as effectively and helpfully as might be. Ronald Mann of Columbia University Law School and Katherine Porter of the University of Iowa College of Law have written a paper on the subject, called Saving Up For Bankruptcy, and many of the things Mann and Porter talk about are things I wrestle with every day as an Indiana bankruptcy attorney and debt consolidation lawyer.

The main problem that Mann and Porter find is that "only a few of those for whom bankruptcy would be economically valuable ever choose to file."  Through interviewing industry professionals (attorneys, trustees, and judges) and through gathering data from judicial filing records, the two professors try to answer two questions:

• What distinguishes those who file from those who don't?
• What determines the timing of when people file bankruptcy?

Mann and Porter found out two very interesting things:

• Creditor collection activity does not force people into filing an immediate bankruptcy. Harassment from creditors wears people down over time, "like water dripping on a stone".
• The primary factor that affects the date on which people file is whether they have saved up enough money to pay the attorney and filing fees.

Based upon these findings, the two professors have two recommendations for changing the system:

• Collection calls need to be stopped through a "do not call list" -type mechanism. This would eliminate many of the costs of debt collection and take the needless pressure off the debtors. Excessive collection efforts, according to the authors, lead to inappropriate filings, not well-thought out courses of action by debtors.
• Low-income, low asset filers (the ones who really need the bankruptcy remedy) would have access to a simplified administrative process without the costs of the full court process that is the only option available today.

Until such time as this kind of recommendation can find its way into law, I continue to offer Indiana bankruptcy help. I caution all my Indiana bankruptcy clients and blog readers about creditors who call…and call…and call.  Under the new bankruptcy laws in Indiana, you have rights.  What's more, in this state you're allowed to record a telephone conversation so long as one party gives consent (that could be you!).  So, if you believe a debt collector is violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you can use a recording device on your telephone to gather evidence you can turn in to the Indiana Attorney General's office.

My own experience in providing Indiana bankruptcy help for the past almost twenty-five years bears out what Mann and Porter say about clients waiting to file because they need to save up money for bankruptcy filing fees (approximately $3,800 for Chapter 13 and approximately $350 for Chapter 7).  Like them, I notice a bankruptcy filing "peak" around the time people receive tax refunds.

Saving Up For Bankruptcy is certainly a thought-provoking paper.  Bankruptcy law has evolved over the years since 1815, when it was first established. As a certified consumer bankruptcy specialist, I have been involved in some of the changes in Indiana bankruptcy laws over the years. But, until the new bankruptcy laws in Indiana change again, all I can do is keep helping Indiana bankruptcy clients navigate the existing bankruptcy system.  The Anderson, Bloomington, Indianapolis, and Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who are my colleagues help me offer the most up-to-date information and Indiana bankruptcy services,  one client at a time.

As a debt consolidation lawyer in Indiana, one of the many things I do is help stop foreclosures.  Well, one evening while driving home, I tuned into the Howard Clark Show on WIBC, and heard him discussing short sales and foreclosures.  Howard was offering a special tip to listeners who were interested in buying distressed real estate, so that banks wouldn't "demolish their credit scores."

Clark's tip was referring to credit checks. When investors wanted to bid on a home being sold in a short sale or on one being sold by a lender after a foreclosure, the banks would run a credit check on every bidder, and do that every time they bid.  That resulted in a lot of credit inquiries showing up on bidders' credit reports.

As an Indianapolis lawyer for bankruptcy, I often give clients who have emerged from bankruptcy the same kind of advice when they're shopping for a car:  Avoid multiple credit inquiries.  I recommend to the Bloomington, Anderson, and Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices in those cities that they tell their bankruptcy clients the same thing.

Here's what I mean.  If you take a look at your own credit report, you'll probably see multiple credit inquiries listed on it.  Businesses you never heard of might be thinking of trying to get you as a customer.  Prospective employers might have checked your credit report.  An insurance company might have inquired.  Or you might even have requested a check on your own report.  None of these are any problem.  The only inquiries that can negatively affect your credit score are the ones generated when you apply for new credit.

That's why Clark Howard was warning would-be bidders on distressed property about the potential damage to their credit ratings. He explained to listeners that, until their bid was actually accepted, there was no legitimate reason for the bank to check their credit score.  For the same reason, in offering Indiana bankruptcy help, I advise clients who have filed and emerged from individual bankruptcy in Indiana to bring along a copy of their own credit report when they visit different auto dealerships to try to find a car.  That way, they won't have multiple potential lenders all make inquiries with the credit bureaus.  And that way, their credit scores won't be "demolished". 


 

"For many people owning a small business and being financially independent is what the American dream is all about," begins a paper about the causes of small business bankruptcy by Professors Bradley and Cowdery of the University of Central Arkansas.

I and my colleagues who are bankruptcy attorneys in Indiana's four Mark Zuckerberg law offices couldn't agree more.

Yesterday, in my Indiana bankruptcy blog, I shared statistics from Bloomberg News comparing the percentage growth in business bankruptcy and individual bankruptcy in Indiana.  While composing that blog, I got to thinking about the thousands of Indiana small business bankruptcy clients with whom I've worked over the years and what I've learned about the way entrepreneurs operate. 

First, while not a single one of those clients went into business even considering "failure" as an option, reality is that a large majority of small businesses do end up failing.   Given how devoted to the success of their businesses my clients all seemed to have been, why was it,  I often asked myself, they were now being forced to consider bankruptcy?  Just as with clients to whom I offer individual bankruptcy help in Indiana, I came to the conclusion that these small business failures were often due to factors beyond the owners' control.

As an Indianapolis bankruptcy attorney and debt consolidation lawyer, I was interested in reading the results of a research project conducted more than ten years ago by the U.S. Small Business Administration about the reasons small businesses fail.

In response to a survey, business owners offered the following factors leading to business failure and small business bankruptcy :
 

• Outside business conditions (competition, costs of doing business)
• Financing (loss of capital, inability to secure loans)
• Inside business mistakes (management mistakes, poor location, loss of clients, poor recordkeeping)
• Tax problems
• Disputes:  (lawsuits, contract disputes)
• Personal: (illness and divorce)
• Calamities: (fraud, theft, natural disasters, accidents)

Every one of these problems, often several in combination, is something I've found in the stories told to me by my own small Indiana business bankruptcy clients. In the recent recession, financing problems have been particularly acute, with customers "slow-paying" their invoices, with suppliers on the other hand demanding timely payment, with increased costs of inventory, plus the lack of available capital to expand and adapt to new technology - small business in Indiana has been "squeezed".

After so many years (coming up on 25 !) of offering bankruptcy services in Indiana to both individuals and small businesses, the picture that comes to my mind when I  think of small business bankruptcy in Indiana is this:  a mini-car being pushed from three sides by "semi trucks". 

From one direction, you have the big businesses that are downsizing and even closing, thus offering fewer and fewer opportunities for the small business to supply parts and services to those big businesses.  In another direction are the customers who are hurting financially themselves and can't make timely payments to the small businesses. Yet a third kind of pressure is coming from the lenders, who are calling credit lines and refusing to offer new credit.

Add to all of this the fact that in the vast majority of small business situations, the personal finances of the business owner are mixed in with the business finances, and it's easy to see why, especially here in the state of Indiana, small business is big, but also, in many cases, in big trouble!

Over my many years dealing with personal bankruptcy in Indiana, there have been many changes in the economy, as well as changes in the form of new bankruptcy laws in Indiana.  As 2010 begins, I’ve been reading what different news services are predicting about bankruptcy trends, and paying attention to what the Indianapolis, Anderson, Bloomington, and Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Mark Zuckerberg law offices in each of those places are seeing, hearing, and reading. 

“The number of Americans filing for personal bankruptcy rose by nearly a third in 2009,” says the Wall Street Journal. Since I offer Indiana bankruptcy help, I was interested in the statistics quoted in WSJ from the National bankruptcy Research Center comparing the different states. Because of the recession, bankruptcy was up in every state (2009 compared to 2008), with Arizona showing the greatest increase (79%), and Nebraska the least (12.2%).  Indiana was in the middle with a year-over-year increase in the number of bankruptcies filed of 32.8%.

The nonprofit Institute For Financial Literacy that provides bankruptcy-related counseling and education added that “the housing crisis and high unemployment have prompted more people to file for bankruptcy who may never have considered the option before.”

As an Indianapolis bankruptcy attorney and debt consolidation lawyer, I’m experiencing that exact thing, with more middle to upper class people filing bankruptcy in Indiana.
Richmondbizsense in Virginia says bankruptcy lawyers there used to see a lot of single parents filing for bankruptcy, but now they’re seeing more middle and upper-middle class families prepare bankruptcy filings,“folks with a good income, maybe two folks working and one loses the income..”

Christine Wilton of California, in Bankruptcy Trends for 2010, predicts “We will see continued high numbers of filings throughout 2010.” Wilton expects more small business bankruptcy to occur as well this year “as this sector continues to tailspin from the economic recession ripple effect”.

Wilton concludes her article by saying “Bankruptcy will be the new “black’ for many Americans seeking financial freedom from debt.” Whether that prediction is borne out in reality this year or not, my plan is to continue offering bankruptcy help in Indiana, including student loan debt help and payday loan debt help, one family, one individual at a time.

In The Two-Income Trap, Harvard Law School professor and bankruptcy authority Elizabeth Warren, together with co-author Amelia Warren Tyagi, write about guilt-free default in bankruptcy.

Now, there’s a question that comes up all the time in the course of my work as an Indianapolis bankruptcy attorney and debt consolidation lawyer – Is there such a thing as guilt-free default? My associates who work as my Columbus bankruptcy lawyers and those who work in the Anderson and Bloomington Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices deal with this issue every day of the week  as well:
 

• What about all my bills that will never get repaid?
• These companies lent me money, so aren’t I obligated to pay them back?? (This is where all the self-blame and guild rear their heads…)

I’ve been offering Indiana bankruptcy help for almost twenty-five years and dealing with personal bankruptcy in Indiana, so these are no new questions for me, but I like the way Warren and Tyagi handle this issue in ther book, by offering a few reassurances and a warning.
 

• Lenders (credit card companies and banks) took a calculated risk when they lent you money.  Every lender hopes to make money on every loan, but they know a certain percentage of loans will default. “The interest charges and penalty fees are designed to cover those risks.”
• Debtors have no need to worry about never being able to obtain credit again.  “Within six months of filing for bankruptcy, 84% of families surveyed received unsolicited offers for new credit.

• “Whatever you do, don’t reassume any old debts that were discharged by the courts.” According to Warren and Tyagi, one in four families signs on to reassume debts that were discharged by the bankruptcy court, mostly out of fear of having purchased goods repossessed.

So, if your debts have been discharged under the new bankruptcy laws of Indiana, you might ask, What about the guilt? If you borrowed money, aren’t you morally (even if no longer legally) obligated to pay it back?

Maybe, say Warren and Tyagi.  “If everyone had stayed healthy and you hadn’t lost your job, you would have paid your debts… But that didn’t happen.”  You were obligated, yes, they explain.  But you’re also obligated to keep a roof over your head and your family’s head, put food on the table, and get the medical care you need. 

The bankruptcy safety net was created to give honest debtors like you a chance to rebuild. Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Tyagi agree:  “Give yourself the best odds of getting exactly what you need from the bankruptcy judge – a fresh start!”

 

Can money borrowed through a business line of credit be discharged in a bankruptcy in Indiana? one blog reader wants to know. A second blog reader is asking the same question about corporate sales tax debt - can that be forgiven through a bankruptcy? he/she wants to know.
 
Let's talk first about business lines of credit.  In fact, this very week two debtors visited two of the bankruptcy law offices of Mark Zuckerberg seeking Indiana bankruptcy information about debts pertaining to small business bankruptcy and business lines of credit. In one case, the line of credit was being "pulled" by the lender; in the second, the business owner was behind on repayments.

• If a business is structured as a corporation or as an LLC (limited liability company), the business is able to file bankruptcy without the owner him or herself filing bankruptcy as well.
• If the business owner was asked to personally guarantee the line of credit or other loan, (which is the case in 90%+ of small business loans in Indiana), then, even if the line of credit is forgiven in the bankruptcy, the lender can go after the owner to collect on the debt.

Sales tax money is not technically, and never was a loan.  The business owner collected that money from customers on behalf of the state of Indiana.  The business owner is, in a manner of speaking, a trustee for the government, holding the money just long enough to process it and then remit it to the tax authorities of Indiana.  In other words, the money was never "lent" to the business for its own use. There are no creditors in this picture; the bankruptcy process simply does not apply. What might apply are penalties for not remitting money to the state that belongs to, and only to, Indiana.

There are different types of bankruptcy - and different combination strategies that need to be considered for each small business situation, as Fred Daily explains in Using the Bankruptcy Code to Handle Tax Debts and Stop IRS Collections.

My advice to small business owners experiencing severe financial difficulties  is the same as I always tell individual debtors;  the earlier you consult with an experienced Indiana bankruptcy attorney, the more Indiana bankruptcy help options will remain available. These have been some pretty hard times for small businesses - getting the help and advice you need is your smartest strategy going forward.  In fact, you might way the whole purpose of small business bankruptcy in Indiana is just that - halting downslide and going forward again!


 

Filing bankruptcy spells relief.  Bankruptcy's automatic stay generally  means relief from harassment by debt collectors, relief from wage garnishment, and from repossession.

But, as I continue to offer Indiana bankruptcy help, I also need to keep reminding my Indiana bankruptcy clients and blog readers of one important fact: 

The whole purpose of the work I and the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in my office there are doing is to help people emerge from bankruptcy and to give them a chance for a fresh financial start.

Rebuilding after bankruptcy means one thing: income! That means the job markets need to be rebuilt as well.  I'm very happy that, for two days running, I have very good news to report about improvements in the potential for more Indiana jobs.  In my Indiana bankruptcy blog yesterday, I talked about the "green grants" that the government has awarded Cummins in Columbus (near  the bankruptcy law offices of Mark Zuckerberg) and Navistar in Ft. Wayne. 

The first good news development I have for you today again involves the Ft. Wayne area. Prairie Quest Consulting is part of a group that was awarded a military contract worth as much as $93 million, for a project to transition an entire air force base from Texas to Ohio. This contract could result in hundreds of high-level jobs for Indiana workers.

Meanwhile, in Elkhardt County, a resort company from Europe is planning to set up a Family Holiday Village Elkhart, with family villas, a water park, shopping, spa, and restaurants.  The company expects to create 500 permanent jobs in addition to 500 construction jobs.

In Westfield, Indiana, part of the area served by the Indianapolis bankruptcy lawyers in my office, the good news involves Kindred Healthcare, Inc.. The company plans to open a new hospital specializing in short-term rehabilitation.  While the hospital isn't scheduled to open until next year, it will mean jobs for medical professionals and administrative workers.

All these pieces of news are very encouraging for Indiana residents who have been hit by layoffs and downsizings.  While all these developments are taking place, my plans are to continue providing bankruptcy information in Indiana, keep up my work as a debt consolidation lawyer, go on giving payday loan debt help and student loan debt help. 

Just knowing that my clients can look forward to better job opportunities in the near future makes the work seem even more worthwhile!

We’re excited , the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices there and I. And, if you or any of your family and friends have been hoping to see improvements in the manufacturing jobs market in Columbus, you should be excited, too.

Just two weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that close to $54 million is being awarded to Cummins Engine in Columbus for two projects aimed at improving efficiency in both heavy-duty vehicles and light-duty vehicles.  What are we so happy about?  This could mean 160 new manufacturing jobs opening up.

Ft. Wayne got lucky as well. Navistar was awarded $38 million to develop technology for waste heat recovery, reduced rolling-resistant tires, and auto and truck aerodynamics. In this case, 200 new jobs might result.

The good news for Indiana really began back in August of last year, when President Obama visited northern Indiana to announce $416 million in federal stimulus grants to Hoosier companies.  Actually, our state has received the second largest amount of federal grant money, second only to Michigan.

Because I’ve offered Indiana bankruptcy services in Bartholomew County for so many years, I’m more than familiar with the fact that the county has always depended on manufacturing for its growth.  That means the Columbus area was hit very, very hard in the recession, with many, many layoffs. Not only was that a leading factor in the rising number of people needing to file bankruptcy in Indiana, but the high unemployment rate meant it was very, very difficult for people to rebuild their financial lives after their bankruptcy process was done!

As I’ve explained many times, filing bankruptcy brings immediate relief from debt collector harassment.  But that’s not the purpose of bankruptcy, not at all.  The purpose is to emerge from bankruptcy, and that takes income from jobs.

That’s why the news about the “green grants” for Cummins really brought a smile to my face. When I’m talking to you about financial options and Indiana bankruptcy help, (or when one of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in my office there are talking to you) we want to be "in the know" about what’s happening in and around your home town job markets!

 

As a bankruptcy attorney in Indiana, whenever during the working day I'm not meeting with clients or working at the courthouse, you'll find me reading - books, magazines, journals, newspapers, you name it.  I want to provide the most up-to-date bankruptcy information in Indiana to my clients and blog readers, and keeping up with professional journals on tax, law, retirement planning, and employment helps me do just that, while reading the newspapers helps me stay up on current trends and events.

Well, just the other day I came across the most interesting article in the Los Angeles Times.  A new study has found that antidepressant medications provide little to no benefit to people with mild to moderate depression, with only people with severe depression experiencing major improvements because of the drugs. And here's the most interesting part of all: "Rather," explains reporter Shari Roan, "the mere act of learning about depression probably triggers the improvements many patients experience while on medication."

Ever since I began writing my Indiana bankruptcy blog, I've been offering the same message about bankruptcy as Roan is saying about antidepressants: it pays to be proactive. For example, I've worked with couples for close to 25 years, and what I've found is that, even if it's painful and even humiliating to go through bankruptcy, the very fact the pair is becoming proactive can be very healing to their relationship!

The antidepressant study found that just visiting a doctor to talk about the symptoms they were experienced helped patients feel better. It's fascinating that I've seen the identical effect in clients who are coming to me as a debt consolidation lawyer, to help negotiate a mortgage modification, to offer payday loan debt help, or for help filing bankruptcy in Indiana.

The first step is, in fact, a visit, a no-pressure, no obligation talk about what's going on and what the options are for doing something about what's going on.  I can't tell you how often people express a sense of great relief, just because, instead of hiding from their problems, they're taking action, even if that action is just talking to a professional.

The big difference I've found between antidepressants and bankruptcy help in Indiana is that antipressants work best in severe cases.  On the other hand, I and the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law office there are able to be of most help when clients come to see us at the earliest signs of financial troubles!

At least according to Women's Personal Finance.net, "The myths and the madness behind the realities of bankruptcy…can sometimes have more wrong information than the only hair stylist in town."

I'm certainly no expert on women's hairstyles or hairstylists, but, as an Indiana bankruptcy attorney, I've always known that women often bear the brunt of a financial crisis.  That's why, as part of offering bankruptcy information in Indiana through my Indiana bankruptcy blog and the four Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices around Indiana, I devote special attention to helping women file personal bankruptcy in Indiana and to helping women take advantage of the fresh financial start bankruptcy can offer.

As the Women's Personal Finance website is careful to explain, filing bankruptcy doesn't "erase" a woman's credit record. Even after debts have been "discharged" or forgiven by the Indiana bankruptcy court, the debts will remain on the credit report, but the balance from each creditor will be changed to zero.  (What that does is stop additional negative marks from being added, but late payments in the past remain on the record, even though the balances due are eliminated.)

The Consumer Federation of America estimates that single women comprise almost 40% of bankruptcy filers.  USA Today agrees, stating that "Recession Can Hit Hard in Families Headed by Women" (May/4/09 issue).

My own experience bears this out, and I've found that women need to protect their own welfare and the welfare of their children. Often a woman-to-woman talk with one of the female professionals in my bankruptcy law offices is the start of hope for clients who'd been given a lot of incorrect information about their options.

One of my favorite sayings, one that women, in particular, seem to appreciate, is "Bankruptcy comes in cans."  Women need to understand that, even though bankruptcy is not what they might have envisioned as being part of their lives, there are many, many advantages in using the Indiana bankruptcy help our laws have provided to:

• stop repossessions
• stop foreclosure on a home
• stop creditors from harassing them and their family members
• wipe out credit card debts
• stop wage garnishment
• get rid of back taxes

As a board-certified consumer bankruptcy specialist, one of only a dozen in our state, I don't know a thing about women's hairdressing or hairdressers.  I do know a lot about being an Indiana lawyer for bankruptcy for women!

After delving into the topic of small business bankruptcy in Indiana in my  blogs last week,  I received some questions from readers, and in today's blog post I'm going to answer a question concerning child support payments. 

From the reader's question, you can almost picture the situation:  There's been a divorce.  The non-custodial parent makes his or her income running a small business in Indiana.
The business probably began suffering financial difficulties even before the divorce, and the owners used dollars from their business to pay household and personal expenses. 

Or, it might have been the opposite situation, where personal income was used to try to keep the small business alive. In either case, the business and personal finances were intertwined up until the divorce. 

Now that the divorce is complete, the only source of income for the non-custodial business owner is - the business. With the recession, it's been a challenge to keep things going, and an even bigger challenge to come up with enough money to make the child support payments.

Now, the owner is thinking about finding a debt consolidation lawyer or someone to provide help with small business bankruptcy in Indiana.  He needs to know what his options are.  He wants to learn about small business bankruptcy in Indiana, but he's still  hoping to keep the business alive. 

The question is, under the new bankruptcy laws in Indiana, what will happen with the child support payments he owes?

First, as any bankruptcy lawyer in Indiana would explain, debts that cannot be discharged though bankruptcy include:

• certain taxes
• student loans
• debts incurred by driving intoxicated
• alimony and child support

As I've continued to provide Indiana bankruptcy help over the past twenty-plus years, 
I've often needed to explain that bankruptcy, same as is true of other valuable tool, cannot fix every problem. That's true for individual bankruptcy in Indiana, and equally true for small business bankruptcy. 

Certainly, the earlier in the process clients sit down with me to consider all options, the more help I'm able to offer. Still, even with the tens of thousands of successful bankruptcy situations that have been handled in the four bankruptcy law offices of Mark Zuckerberg over the years, I must admit there are some financial problems for which Indiana bankruptcy is simply not the "fix-all".

I'm fond of explaining that bankruptcy comes mostly in "cans"', but there are some "cannots" as well.  Child support is one of those "cannots", I'm afraid. 



 

Just yesterday, offering bankruptcy information in Indiana through my blog, I used examples of big corporate bankruptcies to illustrate how the small business bankruptcy system works for my Indiana bankruptcy clients.

Today, however, let's talk personal bankruptcy in Indiana.  This time, I'll use three examples of celebrities who filed bankruptcy last year to illustrate some of the causes of the individual bankruptcy I see right here at home.

1.   Movie actor Stephen Baldwin filed bankruptcy in 2009, after his mortgage company began foreclosure proceedings against him.

Over my many years handling individual bankruptcy in Indiana, I often need to explain to clients that foreclosure and bankruptcy are two separate legal processes. (Proposals to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages were not approved by Congress.) Designing exactly the right strategy to fit the situation of each client who needs Indiana bankruptcy help, a strategy which may or may not include foreclosure, is a big part of what being a board-certified consumer bankruptcy specialist is all about for me. 

2.  Former major league baseball All-Star Lenny Dykstra of the New York Mets, filed bankruptcy because some gigantic business deals failed and led to many expensive lawsuits.

One of the things I often find is that business dealings and personal finances have not been separated, so that business failures are intertwined with personal financial failures, leading to bankruptcy. The Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Mark Zuckerberg offices there twll me that often a Chapter 11 small business bankruptcy will quite often be paired with the need for a debt consolidation lawyer on a personal level as well.

Comedian Sinbad was forced into bankruptcy because of a lien on his income for failure to correctly file taxes on some of his hit DVD's.

It is crucial for people behind on their federal and/or Indiana taxes to work with an experienced consumer debt and bankruptcy professional in order to make use of all the legal advantages available.  Getting on the wrong side of tax authorities is dangerous. However, it's a myth that you can never have tax bills discharged in bankruptcy.  In fact, most income taxes more than three years old qualify for forgiveness under Indiana bankruptcy laws.

In all my nearly twenty five years as an Indiana bankruptcy lawyer I have had only a handful of movie stars or sports star clients.  But, helping tens of thousands of clients deal with problems relating to foreclosure, tax liens, lawsuits, and small business issues, making Indiana bankruptcy laws work for them? That's exactly the stuff of which an Indiana bankruptcy lawyer's career is made!

I read a lot, everything from professional journals on law, financial planning, tax, employee benefits, and education - all with an eye to providing the most up-to-date Indiana bankruptcy information and advice to my Indiana clients and blog readers. A couple of weeks ago, I read an article in the Chicago Tribune that touched on two subjects close to my heart - service members and job markets.  The story highlighted Illinois guardsmen returning from duty and having difficulties getting back into the job market.

For the past twenty years and more, I've been offering Indiana bankruptcy help, as well as help with small business bankruptcy in Indiana. Over the years, I often had to help servicemen and women deal with payday loan debt help.   

Fortunately, in 2007, new laws were passed making it illegal for creditors to grant high-interest payday loans and car title loans to members of the military.

In several ways, our bankruptcy laws in Indiana allow for special accommodations for soldiers and veterans, including, of course, guardsmen. Besides preventing service members and their families from being evicted from a home, the interest rates that can be charged on their credit cards is capped, and all legal proceedings against them are postponed.

One of the most important concessions offered to military personnel has to do with the bankruptcy means test.  Generally speaking, people who earn more than their state's median income (as measured by family size and Census Bureau Median Family Income numbers), do not have a choice of filing either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The bankruptcy means test is adjusted, though, for both active military and needy vets, including guardsmen, so that they are allowed to have more income and still have the choice of filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

"According to the law," explains Chicago Tribune writer James Janega, "members of the guard and reserves who return to work from active duty are entitled to be treated as if they had never left.  If their job still exists, they are supposed to get it back." That means, he goes on to clarify, that if others with the same job description have been let go, the returning guard members may be out of luck.

"I'm pretty worried about it", said one guardsman. "If I get released from orders and the checks stop coming in, the bills don't."  That's where the Indiana bankruptcy safety net might need to go on active duty!

Two days ago in my Indiana bankruptcy blog, I wrote about Freight Masters Systems, an Indianapolis trucking and logistics firm that filed bankruptcy.  Yesterday, I responded to a reader's question about whether Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 was more advantageous for a small business seeking Indiana bankruptcy help. 

Since my blog is part of an effort on my part to provide useful bankruptcy information in Indiana. I think it might be helpful for my blog readers and Indiana bankruptcy clients to understand why Freight Masters Systems chose Chapter 11, and what the special requirements and advantages are of that form of bankruptcy.

Linda Ekstrom Stanley, a bankruptcy trustee in San Francisco, wrote:  "Chapter 11 is a valuable tool.  It gives small and large businesses alike a breathing space from their creditors, a chance to reorganize, a 'fresh start'.  It provides a unique opportunity to restructure the results of past mistakes for future success."

As one of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers that work in my offices there often tells clients, "The most important thing to understand about Chapter 11 is that it is appropriate only when there are real possibilities for the business to survive."  Chapter 11 is meant for a business that is having financial difficulties, but these are expected to be temporary.  If debt repayments can be reduced or at least postponed, there is real hope that the business can once again become successful.

In fact, once the Chapter 11 bankruptcy is filed with the court, the debtor has 4 months to file a plan of reorganization with the bankruptcy court, and the creditors have to agree to that plan.

I'm a debt consolidation lawyer as well as a small business bankruptcy attorney in Indianapolis, so, when I'm sitting down with owners of a small business to evaluate options and plan a strategy for bankruptcy, there are some hard questions I need to ask:

1.   What really makes more sense - liquidating the business altogether and starting over with a new business - or reorganizing this one? Will you have the capital to start a new business?

2.   Do you, the owners, truly have the ability to make this particular kind business profitable again, despite whatever obstacles there are in your industry?

3.   What kind of debt do you have?  Is it mostly secured debt (those assets will be returned to the creditors) or unsecured?

4.    Do you, the owners, understand that a Chapter 11 reorganization plan will require quite a bit of time and effort to keep up with the monthly reporting that will need to be done all through the process?

As Indianapolis bankruptcy lawyers, my colleagues and I often refer to Linda Ekstrom Stanley's description of how strict a discipline the Chapter 11 process involves.  "Too often," she says, "the debtor's principals are stressed-out entrepreneurs accustomed to operating in an unstructured environment.  Chapter 11 is like a bucket of cold water."