The Tulsa World, the newspaper of choice in Gary Busey’s Oklahoma hometown, has been following the celebrity’s bankruptcy filing very closely for a few weeks, and his journey through bankruptcy court offers helpful lessons for future filers.
This week, Busey completed an online financial management course that was required by federal bankruptcy laws.
Now, Busey has an [...]

A radio personality who serves as a troubleshooter for struggling consumers is facing criticism from a Colorado newspaper that believes he is asking for special favors during his bankruptcy process.
Tom Martino, a radio personality who offers consumer advice, has drawn the ire of a skeptical bankruptcy judge who hasn’t appreciated Martino’s efforts to speed up [...]

Homeowners association fees can be a nuisance, but they often provide neighborhoods with money for landscaping, security, and other aesthetic and practical additions to a community.
These fees, however, can be a nightmare during bankruptcy. Due to an obscure provision in a 2005 bankruptcy law, homeowners associations can still seek dues from members, even if those [...]

A common concern for married couples struggling with debt is whether one spouse’s bankruptcy filing will hurt the other’s credit.
In many cases, the other spouse’s credit will not be affected by a bankruptcy, as long as the filing spouse’s lines of credit belong solely to him or her. This scenario is described in more detail [...]

It’s fairly common these days for adults to have their name on accounts that belong to minor children or aging parents – but what happens to those joint or custodial accounts in personal bankruptcy may be confusing.
After all, bankruptcy court requires filers to repay creditors to the best of their ability, and cash reserves, if [...]

Many people considering bankruptcy protection wonder about whether tax debt can be discharged as part of a bankruptcy filing. The answer is complicated: in some cases, income taxes cannot be discharged and in some cases, they can.
If you owe back-taxes and have questions about your personal situation, you may want to speak with a bankruptcy [...]

Deciding to file for bankruptcy is a major financial move. Once a person takes the plunge, it can be jarring and frustrating if the court rejects the case. A rejected bankruptcy case is one that’s dismissed without discharge; in other words, the court kicks the case out with granting any debt relief.
Here’s a look at [...]

As the old saying goes the bigger they are the harder they fall. Recent economic events have proven this idiom true. Some of the largest companies in the world, like Worldcom, were over $100,000,000,000 in debt when they went under. We have decided to take a look at some of the biggest corporations that filed [...]

A recent posting on the bankruptcy blog Credit Slips asks this intriguing question: why, when delinquent consumer debts are at historical highs, are we not seeing more personal bankruptcy filings? To contextualize this question a little, here’s some background:

In 2005, a new bankruptcy law (the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, or BAPCPA) took [...]

The recent experience of a woman scammed by a rogue debt settlement firm provides a cautionary tale about these controversial debt services.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a Missouri woman recently paid a debt settlement firm an upfront fee of $1,500 to enlist their services. The end result of their efforts was unsettling, though not [...]

With personal bankruptcy filings on pace to top 1.6 million in 2010 (perhaps the highest levels since the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act took effect in 2005), it may come as a surprise that many Americans in dire financial straits are not filing for bankruptcy.
But that’s exactly what the case may be, according [...]

The Agriculture Department has reportedly launched a new campaign aimed at reducing the stigma associated with using food stamps to purchase food. It includes the posting of signs at grocery stores that read “We Welcome SNAP Benefits.”
SNAP, which stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is the new name of what were previously known as “food [...]

The question of whether or not to borrow money to make a purchase to a simple formula: borrow money to buy things that go up in value.
It’s no secret that Americans have a lot of consumer debt – that’s why so many of us are underwater on our mortgages and why record numbers have filed [...]

A recent article from the San Francisco Chronicle discusses a study of hundreds of bankruptcy filings and found that many bankruptcy filers had certain habits in common. If you’re recovering from a personal bankruptcy filing or trying to get your finances on track, these behaviors should act as warning signs that you may not be [...]

A provision in the 2005 bankruptcy law that limits the advice bankruptcy attorneys may give their clients is not a violation of the First Amendment, the Supreme Court ruled this week.
Bankruptcy attorneys are prohibited from advising potential bankruptcy filers to take on more debt leading up to their case, as it may lead to bankruptcy [...]

As the NBC show The Office illustrated humorously, declaring bankruptcy involves more than just verbally declaring “bankruptcy.” In fact, it’s a complex process that involves substantial legal paperwork. Here’s a look at how various bits and pieces—including your expected tax return—fit into the bankruptcy process.
Bankruptcy Documents You’ll Need
While the specific documentation required to file for [...]

Mint.com and WallStats.com have teamed up to create a tongue-in-cheek visual representation of some dangerous predatory lending products common in America today. The image is titled The Shaft: How Some Companies Prey on the Poor.
The graphic helps depict the reality of some benign-seeming products—and highlights how susceptible many lower-income Americans are to terrible credit products, [...]

Hard economic times are not limited to American families right now – many states, too, are finding themselves in precarious financial situations. California is notorious for its budget shortfalls, and, according to NBC.com, Illinois has joined the ranks of the nearly bankrupt.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the problems plaguing state governments aren’t that different from the ones that [...]

Medical debt can often be an embarrassing situation for individuals filing bankruptcy, exposes both financial and physical struggle.
However, the process may have been even worse for some after a Wisconsin health care provider allegedly included personal medical histories in publicly accessible bankruptcy court records.
A class action lawsuit filed in Wisconsin against Aurora Health Care, Inc., [...]

A new set of median income levels take effect for consumers filing personal bankruptcy on or after November 1. The median income is used as part of the means test in chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Consumers may be able to file under the previous set of median incomes if the new levels could prevent them from filing [...]