Tennessee Bankruptcy Law Blog

Despite having a lower bankruptcy rate than the previous year, Tennessee still remains near the top when it comes to listing states with the highest bankruptcy filing rates. Last year, Tennessee residents ranked number two, trailing only the state of Nevada for the highest rate of filings across the country.

Recently released statistics show that bankruptcy filings across the country have risen as much as 13 percent this year and don't show many signs of slowing down. In fact, the month of July alone say a 9 percent increase in filings over the same time a year ago.

When one looks a the total number of filings, it may provide an even better sense of just how many people are choosing bankruptcy. From July 2008 until the end of June in 2009, 1.25 million people filed bankruptcy cases. In the twelve months following, 1.5 million made bankruptcy filings.

Over the last few years, homeowners all over the country have been threatened by possible home foreclosure. Financial difficulties brought on by job loss, the economic slowdown, and the collapse of the real estate market have made the prospect of losing their home to foreclosure a very real possibility for many people.

Unfortunately, in times like these, when people are faced with losing their home and most valuable asset, there are many unscrupulous individuals and companies that attempt to take advantage of those who in financial trouble. If you are approached by someone offering to help you prevent foreclosure or obtain a mortgage loan modification, you need to be aware of the signs of a potential loan scam.

In our last two posts, we discussed some of the questions you might want to ask yourself before choosing bankruptcy as the means of dealing with your financial problems. In this post, we will wrap up that discussion with a few more points to think over when deciding if a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy is the right option for you.

Do I have any other good options? While bankruptcy is not as scary or damaging as some might have you believe, you may want to look around to make sure you wouldn't be more comfortable with other options first. If your mortgage is one of the debts causing your financial hardship, you may want to explore ways of alleviating that problem through a mortgage modification, a refinancing, or even a short sale of your home.

In our last post, we provided some answers for a few common questions people have about filing for bankruptcy. Here is a continuation of that post with a few more common questions and some additional information you can use to help determine if bankruptcy is right for you. Of course, if you want to know more, you should contact a bankruptcy attorney to discuss your particular situation.

What happens to my bills and my debts in bankruptcy? Depending on the type of bankruptcy you end up filing, your debts may be discharged, meaning they are forgiven and you don't ever have to worry about them again, or they may be restructured so that you can pay all or part of them, or they may continue to exist. Mostly, this question depends on the types of debts you have.

Filing for bankruptcy is not a decision that one should come to lightly. There are many important issues to consider because bankruptcy is a big decision that will affect you for a number of years. However, don't get the impression that bankruptcy only has negative repercussions. Filing for bankruptcy may be a positive step toward getting your life back on track after unforeseen circumstances such as job loss, medical problems, divorce, or some other event created financial problems for you.

One reason making a decision to file for bankruptcy may be so difficult for some is because bankruptcy itself sounds scary and is not fully understood. This can be a complicated decision and it shouldn't be one that you make on your own, if you find yourself in a financial situation in which it seems there is no way out, going over your options with a bankruptcy attorney may be a good first step.

Here is some basic information that you may want to consider to help you determine if you want to explore the option of bankruptcy. Remember, bankruptcy can be a complex issue, so never be afraid to ask questions or seek advice.

In our last post, we talked about the growing trend of employers utilizing a job applicant's credit information, including bankruptcy filings and foreclosures, when making hiring decisions. In this post, we will look a little closer at some of the arguments against using this information and see how various legislatures are responding to the issue.

While some have argued that examining credit histories may provide relevant information about a potential employee's level of responsibility, others argue that using this information is an unfair use of information from an individual's private life and may be wholly inaccurate as well.

According to Ben Woolsey, the director of marketing and consumer research for CreditCards.com, credit information isn't really a substitute for a character reference, for which it appears some employers are using the information. While some of this information could be a sign of financial irresponsibility for some, it is impossible to know why someone experienced a certain financial setback. Consequently, making a hiring decision based on incomplete and possibly misleading information hurts both employers and employees.

People all over the country have been experiencing financial difficulties over the last couple of years. Many have been the victims of job loss, many have seen their mortgage payments jump with an adjustable rate mortgage, and others have fallen behind on their bills because of excessive medical debts. All of these problems have contributed to increasing numbers of bankruptcy filings and an epidemic of foreclosures.

Now, making things even more difficult for some that have been plagued by financial problems, more employers are looking into the credit history of job applicants when deciding whom to hire. According to a survey conducted by the Society for Human Resources Management, as many as 60% of employers may be using credit checks to help make hiring decisions.

While the use of credit checks is nothing new, the frequency with which they are being used has changed significantly. Previous surveys have shown around 35% of employers using credit checks in 2003, and only 13% doing so in 1996.

The economic downturn and the weak housing market have left many people on the verge of foreclosure and have caused many to seek the assistance of companies promising to help modify mortgages and protect homes. Unfortunately, many of these companies have been making promises they cannot keep and have left homeowners even worse off than they were before.

These companies often use deceptive sales pitches claiming that they can find ways of stopping foreclosure, modifying mortgages or even relieving a homeowner of the mortgage altogether. The services offered by these companies often fail to live up to the hype, but still require the homeowner to pay a large, upfront fee of several thousands of dollars.