Indianapolis Bankruptcy Attorney

Sometimes not losing what you already have is all the "win" you can hope for. That's a lesson I've been learning over the past two years, anyway.  A big part of my offering bankruptcy information in Indiana is helping readers and clients get updates on hiring and firing around the state.  As a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana for close to 25 years, I know how closely personal bankruptcy in Indiana and the availability of jobs in Indiana are tied to each other.

The big "keep what we have" news is that the Indianapolis Navistar plant is going to remain open after all, after being slated to close two weeks ago.  This decision doesn't create any new jobs, but it does save a couple thousand of them.  And, when it comes to workers who've filed individual bankruptcy in Indiana and who depend on income from their jobs to help make planned debt payments (under Chapter 13 banrkuptcy law in Indiana), it can make a huge difference.

Another company 's employees aren't quite so lucky in terms of keeping their jobs.  Norwood Promotional Products is leaving the state of Indiana and moving to Florida.  One of my colleagues in the Indianapolis Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices reported that all 57 remaining Norwood employees will lose their jobs by year-end.

On a more positive (but longer term) note, Heritage Crystal Clean, Inc.oil refinery is locating a facility in Speedway, bringing 75 new jobs within the next two years..  Meanwhile, Smart IT Staffing, Inc. is expanding in Indianapolis and will create 80 new jobs in those same two years.

One of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers in the Zuckerberg Bankruptcy Law Offices is a big race fan.  He's been following news about IZOD Indy Car Services, which has big manufacturing expansion plans, and will be hiring more technical staff.  (I'll keep you posted here at Bankruptcy in Indiana.)

For me, as an attorney offering Indiana bankruptcy help, there's another slant on all this news about Navistar staying open and all the planned hiring by other companies.  One kind of assistance I'm asked for just about every day is help stopping foreclosure on people's homes. The foreclosure situation in Indiana, while not as bad as other states, hasn't gotten much better this year.  Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana can help stop foreclosure.  The problem is, you can't file Chapter 13 without having an income, and that means we have to have jobs!

Before, during, and after bankruptcy - it still boils down to keeping jobs, and to keeping those jobs coming!

There are only a few things that make me really angry, and scams targeting people who already have their share of financial troubles is near the top of the list.  As a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana for close to 25 years, I've seen any number of schemes and scams.  Of course, there have been even more than the usual number of scams because of the economic downturn.  The ones around Indiana have included:

• Free credit report scams
• Foreclosure prevention scams
• Nigerian 419 scams
• credit rebuilding services

I've got all my colleagues (the good bankruptcy attorneys in the Indiana Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices in Anderson, Bloomington, and Indianapolis, along with the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers in my offices there) on the lookout for scams.  In fact, part of my mission in writing Bankruptcy Indiana is to alert readers and Indiana bankruptcy clients about scamsters and about looking for financial help in "all the wrong places."

If you suspect a scam, it's a good idea to check with the Indiana Attorney General's office. One scam, started a few years ago, but has recently been happening here in Indiana all over again is the "Shopping Spree" Scam.  The original scam consisted of consumers receiving phone calls promising them shopping sprees at Walmart worth $200-$500 in exchange for shopping at Walmart and reporting on the experience.  The real motivation was getting the bank account numbers of the victims.  


The thing that really gets to me as a lawyer for individual bankruptcy in Indiana, is that when people are already worried about their financial situation, it's very easy for scamsters to sidetrack them into thinking they can earn valuable prizes that can help them avoid filing bankruptcy in Indiana.  Instead, they become victims of a scam and that hurts their situation even more!  That's why, every time I hear about a new scam, I immediately issue a warning. With so many people out of work and desperate for help stopping foreclosure on their homes, the last thing anyone needs is losing money on a Walmart shopping spree scam.

Anyway, the latest version of the shopping spree scam has a new twist to it. An envelope arrives in the mail bearing what looks like a state unemployment agency seal.  Inside is a check and a letter. The letter invites you to be a "mystery shopper" at Sears or Wal-mart, saying you'll be part of a state-funded program to help the unemployed make money. You're told to deposit the check in your bank, then spend some of the money at the store, and keep some for your "work". The check is counterfeit, but your bank doesn't discover this immediately, and you're on the hook for everything you spent at the store! As any debt consolidation lawyer can tell you, now you're even deeper in debt!

AARP explains that there do exist legitimate "mystery shopper" jobs.  But, for the real thing, you get paid after you do the work, not before! The message that I've been trying to convey for the past three years in Bankruptcy in Indiana is this: At the very first signs of financial trouble, it's best to seek experienced financial advice.  Looking for help in all the wrong places (sometimes even Wal-mart is the wrong place!) is going to do you any good - and it may do a lot of harm!


 

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

Still, I am reading some good-news developments.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

When I was asked by Indy's Child last year to write a guest article, I asked myself, "What can I, a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy information in Indiana, write about that is likely to give the most help to the most people?"  The answer, I realized, was teaching people to Just Say "No!" to becoming scam victims.  

"One of the best ways," I began, "to protect your financial and emotional health, along with that of your children, is to avoid becoming a victim of a scam."  I reminded readers that, with job openings scarce, scams were going up.  In fact, since the Indy's Child article was published, tens of new scams have been discovered.

You must remember that, as a long-time lawyer for bankruptcy in Indiana, I'm in the business of curing credit problems, while scamsters do nothing but create problems for innocent people. Often, these innocent victims are already having financial difficulties and are more vulnerable than ever.

In yesterday's Bankruptcy in Indiana piece, I warned readers and clients about a scam targeting those collecting unemployment benefits. Now, the Indiana Association of Area Agencies for Aging warns of two new scams having to do with Medicare patients.  In one, criminals call Medicare patients' doctors, ordering durable medical equipment on their behalf!  Other scammers telephone beneficiaries claiming to be from Medicare and offering discounts on diabetes and high blood pressure testing equipment, heating pads, and the like, all for the purpose of obtaining personal information from victims' Medicare cards.

Having spent the past twenty-plus years offering bankruptcy services in Indiana, working hard to help, I become very angry when scams target vulnerable people and hurt them by stealing their identity.

Yet another form of scam revolves around bank accounts.  Emails, faxes, and letters appear to come from the FDIC, even using the FDIC's official seal.  The email title often is "Check your bank deposit insurance coverage."

I've been spreading the word among all the good bankruptcy attorneys in Indiana, including my colleagues the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers and those in Anderson, Bloomington, and Indianapolis who work in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices.  I've been warning all the attorneys who attend professional courses that I teach.

You need to spread the word, too.  Watch out for scams and tell your friends.  If you suspect a scam, call the offices of the Indiana Attorney General at 1 800 232 6330 or go to the website at http://in.gov/2434.htm.

Meanwhile, I keep helping clients file personal bankruptcy in Indiana (or sometimes small business bankruptcy in Indiana), one client at a time.

I wish I could say to all the scammers: Please.  If you can't help people who are in financial difficulty, get out of the way and let me do it.  But, above all, don’t hurt them!
 

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Yesterday in Bankruptcy in Indiana, I mentioned the fact that Congress has just rejected the Unemployment Extension Bill.  Let's talk about what that could mean to you Indiana bankruptcy clients and readers.

If you're already collecting unemployment payments, you will still collect for any weeks remaining on your present "tier" of benefits.  There will be no renewals, though. If you were already on Extended Benefits, the payments stopped June 13, even if you had money remaining on your claim.
 

• Unemployment benefits are exempt property for purposes of bankruptcy.  That means that if you file personal bankruptcy in Indiana and you still have benefit payments coming to you, you will be allowed to keep that money to use towards your own living expenses, rather than using it to pay towards debts. (As a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana, I helped write the exemptions portion of the new bankruptcy laws of Indiana.)
   
•  What's more, as any good bankruptcy attorney in Indiana can tell you, unemployment benefits cannot generally be garnished by creditors. (One of the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices reminded me to add that alimony and child support may be exceptions to this rule.)
   
• As a long-time Indianapolis bankruptcy attorney, I want to repeat an alert from the Indiana Attorney General's office about a new scam that targets unemployed people.  This scam involves bogus text messages telling recipients their benefit debit cards from unemployment have been cancelled. If you receive this type message, do not respond! Most important, be careful not to share personal information.

When you're a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana for almost twenty five years, you're used to seeing many different situations.  Some things never seem to change, because there will always be individuals who either through their own fault or due to circumstances beyond their control, get in deep financial trouble, coming to need Indiana bankruptcy help.

But, as I've been discussing at length with colleagues in the Indianapolis, Bloomington, Anderson, Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices and with the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who are my associates there, I believe that last week something big happened.  And that something is going to play a very, very large role in our work helping people file personal bankruptcy in Indiana.  This time, I believe, it really is going to be different from all the other times.

For the past three years, I've been reporting, through Bankruptcy in Indiana, on plant closings, job layoffs, and, on the good-news side, company expansions and plans to hire workers. I've been taking pains to explain how, for the bankruptcy system to function property, we need well-paying jobs. Then I've been passing along all the job-related news I can get my hands on.  Today, for example, is typical. I can report both good and bad news.

On the good side,

• Santelli Tempered Glass, Inc. is moving to Elkhart and expects to create 35 jobs.
   
• POET Biorefining has bought a new production facility in Cloverdale and plans to add 40 jobs.
   
• The Greater Indiana Clean Cities Coalition and the Indiana Office of Energy Development announced a $23 million alternative fuel project.
   
• On the negative end, Alcoa in Lafayette announced 65 job cuts.

But, what happened in the last two weeks is huge.  I'm referring to the fact that thousands of laid-off people have just had their unemployment checks cut off.  And, while during all of my career, job layoffs have been one of the three leading causes of bankruptcy, we've never, in my memory as a professional offering bankruptcy services in Indiana, had this many people unemployed at the same time. 

Now, Bankruptcy in Indiana offers no political commentary at all, and there are certainly those who agree and disagree with Congress' decision last week not to extend unemployment benefits.  The point I'm trying to make is that, in the four Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices around the state of Indiana, over the past year, my colleagues and I are beginning to see people who, only a few short years ago, represented the executive and top managerial levels in the major corporations housed in Indiana, people used to making between $60,000 and six-figure annual salaries.

By the time these individuals end up in our offices to deal with even the consideration of filing bankruptcy in Indiana, they've run up credit card balances even with the unemployment benefits  coming in.  Maintaining their homes (which they've been unable to sell) and even their much-scaled-back lifestyle costs took more than their unemployment check could hope to cover. Most have been involved in every day, all-day job searches. 

In today's job market, employers just haven't hired those aged 50+ former managers and executives.   Going forward, I believe, these are the clients for whom the Indiana bankruptcy system will truly function as their only remaining safety net.

  It's pretty obvious that this Indiana lawyer for bankruptcy isn't the only one keenly interested in news about Indiana job markets. In addition to the different companies hiring workers that I talked about in yesterday's Bankruptcy in Indiana, there are two  really big struggles going on to keep large numbers of manufacturing jobs from leaving the state.

One of these struggles is happening in Ft. Wayne. Yesterday I wrote about the Vera Bradley company hiring, causing three other sewing companies to downsize, and about the X-Y takeover of Global Tool, causing layoffs.

Now an even bigger issue is on the table: Navistar is considering moving its truck design and technology center to Alabama or North Carolina.  Were Navistar to relocate, Indiana could lose 1,000 jobs. A consulting firm has been brought in to try to negotiate a deal to keep the center in Indiana.  Since, as a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana, I have one of the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices located in Anderson, Navistar's decision could have an effect on clients who are emerging from personal bankruptcy in Indiana who need those jobs.

The second, even bigger, struggle relates to the General Motors Co. stamping plant in Indianapolis.  The proposed sale of the plant to JD Norman is being held up while union members debate whether to agree to the offer or not. The big issue is wage concessions, with the Detroit-based UAW willing to discuss some concessions and the local union members refusing.  GM decided back in 2007 that, unless the plant was bought by 2011, it would be closed. According to the Indianapolis Star (July 2, 2010), losing that plant would hit Indianapolis hard through the loss of more than $2,000,000 in property taxes and workers' county income, taxes.

As a long-time bankruptcy attorney in Indiana, I'm even more worried about the workers themselves.  As I've been saying all along, people can file individual bankruptcy in Indiana, but it is almost impossible for them to successfully emerge from bankruptcy without well-paid jobs. Even if debts have been discharged through bankruptcy, and even if harassment by creditors has been halted by bankruptcy's automatic stay, it remains true that post-bankruptcy clients need to get their finances back on track, and that takes income.

In the longer term, things do look brighter.  Inside Indiana shares reports from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) that 93 new decisions have been secured for companies to locate plants and branches within Indiana, and to hire close to 14,000 new workers.

That can't  happen fast enough for this bankruptcy attorney in Indiana!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here's what happened in the North Dakota case:
 

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

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

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

 

No one knows better than I, an attorney for small business bankruptcy in Indiana for more than twenty years that, in the business community, the last thing anyone wants to talk about is filing bankruptcy in Indiana! At the very least, I've found, business owners want to feel they've taken advantage of every possibly bankruptcy avoidance measure!

That's why, with so many small businesses in Indiana (we have more than half a million!), and with so many of those feeling the "ripple effect" when big companies fold or downsize, one form of Indiana bankruptcy help I offer is actually Indiana bankruptcy prevention advice!

We all make decisions every day.  Small business owners, in particular, are used to making rapid decisions based on the best information available to them at the time.  So, at each of the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices, the Anderson, Bloomington, Indianapolis, and Columbus bankruptcy lawyers encourage small business owners to sit down with us to "scope the stats" and evaluate their options.

One important piece of Indiana small business bankruptcy prevention planning is prioritizing payments:

• Taxes are absolutely Number One.  No small business needs penalties and interest piling up, or needs to get on the wrong side of the IRS or the state of Indiana!
  (Often, as a debt consolidation lawyer, I find myself coordinating my efforts with clients' CPAs, business attorneys, and financial advisors.)
   
• Rent, utilities, and all the other everyday bills need to be paid in order to keep the business site itself running.
   
• One of the "toughies" is payroll.  Laying off employees is the hardest thing for most small business owners to do, and maintaining morale among the workers who are left is a big challenge, too.  But, in providing Indiana bankruptcy prevention help, payroll is almost always part of the discussions I have with small business owners.
   
• Suppliers are often other small business owners, themselves experiencing the "squeeze" on finances.  Compromises need to be worked out to help both stay afloat.
   
• As a debt consolidation lawyer, negotiating with creditors is often one service I provide that is highly appreciated by small business owners.

The interesting thing is that, if filing small business bankruptcy turns out to be unavoidable, the business owners who have gone through the process of bankruptcy prevention planning are ten times better prepared to deal with the actual bankruptcy process and to emerge successfully from small business bankruptcy in Indiana!

The Dallas debt settlement company's slogan read "We negotiate the past while you negotiate the future", and Linda Robertson responded to that ad, signing up for a debt settlement plan last year.  As a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy information in Indiana to clients and readers, I was "relieved" that the New York Times was using Linda Robertson's case to warn consumers about the dangers of debt settlement plans.

For close to 25 years, I've been a bankruptcy attorney in Indiana, with four Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices serving 55 counties in our state.  And, while I can more than understand how myths about bankruptcy in Indiana keep many individuals from considering filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana, it's a real pity when those individuals look for help in all the wrong places, falling prey to false hopes and even becoming the victims of scams.

Here's what happened:
 

• Linda Robertson's real estate appraisal business collapsed during the recession in housing. She lost her home to foreclosure.
   
• Failing to keep up with even the rent on an apartment while holding down two jobs and caring for her young son, Linda moved into a room in her aunt's home in Missouri.
   
• Linda took a night factory job, but could not keep the bills paid and ran up her credit card balances.
   
• When Linda signed on with the debt settlement company FF, the "deal" was that she would make monthly deposits of $427 into a new account and stop trying to pay the credit card bills.  FF would take $100 of that for fees.
   
• When enough money had accumulated in her account, FF promised, they would negotiate a lump sum settlement with Linda's credit card companies and she'd be debt free in three years.
   
• Linda proceeded to make nine payments, at which point a sheriff showed  up at her door with an order from the credit card company.
   
• When Linda called FF for help, she was told that they could do nothing, since her account had only $1470 in it (after the fees FF had taken) and that wasn't enough to settle with the creditor.

As a debt consolidation lawyer, I'm not happy to report the unhappy end to this story:
Linda Robertson filed a complaint with the attorney general and the Better Business Bureau.  She ended up receiving her $1,470 back, plus half the fees she'd paid. Linda is now in the process of filing bankruptcy.

All of us - the Anderson, Bloomington, Indianapolis, and Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices in Indiana, have encoutered hundreds of similar situations.  Not for every one of them did filing individual bankruptcy in Indiana turn out to be the ideal solution to their problems.

What is always true, though, is that the earlier individuals ask for Indiana bankruptcy help, the greater their chance of being helped, and of avoiding situations like Linda Robertson's.  To learn more, check out the article I wrote last year for Indy's Child Magazine, in which there is detailed information about debt management and debt consolidation agencies and companies, called "When You Can't Do Debt Alone". 

As a longtime adviser on bankruptcy in Indiana, the message I want to spread is this:
Please - don't go into a deeper hole trying to dig out of debt!

Companies offering "bankruptcy alternatives" have been in the news lately, as consumer complaints about unfair practices keep pouring in. As a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana, I've dealt with literally tens of thousands of debtors over a period of almost twenty five years.  Sometimes I think I've seen it all….

Rather than making me cynical, though, it's been just the opposite.  All the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices there, and who have seen all the jobs lost in southern Indiana, understand how hard it is to face up to financial problems that are not of your own making. It's tough to even consider filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana.

As an Indianapolis bankruptcy lawyer myself, I've seen parents trying to help their adult children cope with job loss and medical bills, as they slide into financial problems of their own. I know why many people turn to me for payday loan debt help.  Believe me, in the four Indiana Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices, we understand. People who have been financially responsible all their lives are coming to the point where filing individual bankruptcy in Indiana is their only hope.

I also understand why, when you're wrestling with all the bills and worries and you hear a radio ad promising that a debt settlement company guarantees to cut your problems in half, you seize at that straw.  The warning, though, that I need to leave with clients and readers is that often these so-called "alternatives" to bankruptcy in Indiana do NOT spell out the relief that you're seeking.

As the recent New York Times article brought out, when a debt settlement company directs you to make monthly deposits into a special account and to  stop making payments on your credit cards, what they often don't tell you is that the credit cards companies are not going to just "go away" and leave you alone.  Collection agencies can and will call when they don't receive your payment.  Sometimes they sue.  Sometimes they garnish your wages.  In other words, creditors haven't agreed to the "deal" you made with the debt settlement company.  Deal or no deal? It's no deal unless all the parties agree.

Now, not everyone who visits the Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices is a candidate for Indiana bankruptcy help.  What IS a good deal, though, for any client, is taking advantage of a free consultation to go over all the so called bankruptcy "alternatives" - and all the alternatives in general -  before agreeing to any "deals"!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

I always try to keep my small business bankruptcy clients up on the latest bankruptcy information in Indiana.  The other day, one of the Indianapolis bankruptcy lawyers who works with me in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices called my attention to a really interesting legal case in the state of Delaware.

The story revolves around the fact that often, in big corporations, bankruptcy (CreditSlips.com calls it the "B" word) is a word no one wants to discuss.  The fear is that even the possibility of a bankruptcy would "spook" suppliers and investors, so that they wouldn't want to do business with the company or buy its stock. Board members are often in denial about the financial distress the company is experiencing.

Of course, as a debt consolidation lawyer offering help filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana, I see exactly the same "ostrich" syndrome when it comes to individual bankruptcy in Indiana.  Rather than dealing assertively with financial problems before they become worse, too many people wait until it's too late for all the options to be available.

In the Delaware case, the board of DSL.net company voted to incur additional debt rather than file bankruptcy. That board decision was contested by some minority shareholders.  As a longtime bankruptcy attorney in Indiana, I can understand why those shareholders were not happy - the new debt the corporation took on included convertible notes that would give the lender a 90% ownership stake in the company, which would in turn allow that lender to force a merger.

Interestingly, the court ruled in favor of the board.  The concept was that board members are allowed to exercise their own best business judgment in making decisions about the corporation.

Now, my bankruptcy practice offers only Indiana bankruptcy help, and I do not handle large corporate cases like DSL.net.  However, I do handle small business bankruptcy in Indiana.  The lesson to be learned from the DSL.net affair, I believe, is that the "B" word may stand for "best". Not always is bankruptcy the best or only solution to financial problems, but neither should it be thought of as a last resort.

"B" can stand for "buy".  Bankruptcy in Indiana often buys time for a business to work out - and work through - a plan to stay afloat!

After almost twenty-five years as a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana, I can usually answer just about any question readers and clients might ask about bankruptcy in Indiana.  Today's reader question is another story, because nobody really knows the answers. 

The question is about how children are affected by bankruptcy.  As much as I know about bankruptcy law in Indiana, that still doesn't provide an answer to this one, because each child, each parent, and each situation is different.

There is information available about children living in poverty.  According to the Foundation for Child Development, the rate of children living in poverty this year is 22%, the highest rate in two decades.  I've written before about the 2003 book The Two-Income Trap, which predicted that one of every six single moms would go bankrupt by the end of the decade.  As the Indianapolis bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices can confirm, of the tens of thousands of clients we've helped file bankruptcy in Indiana over the past twenty-plus years, many have in fact been single mothers of young children.
 

There's no doubt children are affected by the financial circumstances of their parents.  As a Columbus bankruptcy lawyer, for example, I've seen children who are not getting the medical care they need because their parents lack medical insurance.  All the attorneys who work in the four Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices have stories to tell about children forced to change school districts because of foreclosure or eviction.

One of the things I tell people who are facing insurmountable financial difficulties - job loss, gigantic medical bills, or divorce (usually a combination of these) and who come to me for Indiana bankruptcy help is:  "Your children should always come first.  Getting you out of debt is the very reason we have the new bankruptcy laws in Indiana to help."  Through bankruptcy in Indiana, you can have a chance for a fresh financial start and get back to putting those children first!

Today's Indiana bankruptcy question concerns a situation where parents are living in the home of their adult child.  What our reader wants to know is, can the parents get Indiana bankruptcy help without being forced to move out of their son's home and without negatively affecting his credit score?

As a long-time debt consolidation lawyer and bankruptcy attorney in Indiana, I've actually seen many such situations among the tens of thousands of people I've helped file bankruptcy Chapter 7 in Indiana.

The other Indianapolis bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices and I discussed this "chicken or egg" question: Is it more frequent for parents to be driven into debt because they've depleted their resources helping their adult children, or is it usually the other way around?

My colleagues the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers complained that it's often difficult to sort out the finances of adult children and their parents. That's because so often there's no documentation when money or assets is transferred between family members. One problem that arises when either the adult child or the parent files bankruptcy in Indiana is that under Indiana bankruptcy law, agreements made between family members are not considered to be legally binding.

The general answer to the reader's question is this: Yes, the parents can file personal bankruptcy in Indiana without that, in itself, affecting their son's credit score.  And, no, they do not need to move out of his home just because they filed bankruptcy.

However, as any good bankruptcy attorney in Indiana would advise the parents, once they file, they will not be allowed to repay any money lent them by their son, ahead of other creditors.  On the other hand, if the parents are making regular rent payments to their son, those would be considered part of their regular living expenses when the Indiana bankruptcy judge is weighing their debts, income, and expenses.

In fact, a crucial aspect of the Indiana bankruptcy help I'd be providing to those parents is filling out their Statement of Financial Affairs in preparation for the bankruptcy process.
 

My work as a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy information in Indiana deals with a sober, if not somber, subject, hardly what you'd describe as a "fun job".  The happy side of personal bankruptcy in Indiana (or of small business bankruptcy in Indiana, for that matter) is the result - a chance for a fresh financial start.  Since so much of the success that potentially follows emerging from bankruptcy in Indiana has to do with  jobs, reporting positive news about job markets in Indiana is actually "fun" for me.

There's a long, wonderful list of job expansions to report on this week, involving everything from uniforms to plasma.  In alphabetical order, here are developments mentioned in Inside Indiana Business and the Indianapolis Star:

A -     Anji Yuankai Furniture Co. Ltd. in Noblesville will bring in 100 new jobs.

C -    Covance, Inc. provider of drug development services, opened a state-of-the-art
          bio-repository facility in Greenfield, adding several hundred jobs.

H  -   Hat World in Indianapolis is expanding into  the wholesale team uniform industry and
        will add 420 new jobs over the next five years.

J -    In Jeffersonville, four companies have expanded, resulting in 68 new hires (Chapman 
       Kelly, Interroll, Krunchers!, and Steel Dynamics).

M -    Technology firm Miller Consulting Group is hiring 50 new workers in Noblesville.

O -   Open Range RV in Shipshewana is hiring 50 new workers.

P -    PDQ Workholding, a manufacturer of hydraulic fixtures, will create 45 jobs in its
     new facility in Columbia City.

R -    The Reagen Park Senior Living Campus in Avon expects to create 132 new jobs.

S -    Southern Wine and Spirits of Greenwood will create 200 new jobs.

       Commercial painting company Steve Reiff, Inc. will crfeate more than 90 new jobs in
        Columbia City.

T -    Transilwrap in Richmond will add 10 jobs.

Y -   Chinese furniture manufacturer Y. K. Household Products in Marion will be
      creating as many as 400 new jobs.

The Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices reported only two pieces of negative job news:

Pace American in Middlebury may close its operation, impacting 150 jobs.

 MHP Pharmacy LLC in Indianapolis will be closing, putting 55 people out of work.

Whether we're talking about personal bankruptcy in Indiana or about small business bankruptcy in Indiana, it's still the jobs that make all the difference!