Arizona residents who file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy do not necessarily have to surrender annuities or life insurance policies, according to a federal appeals court ruling dating back to 2012. The decision has relatively limited impact nationally because the court relied upon the provisions of Arizona law pertaining to exempt property. A person who seeks [...]
The attention given to health reform in this country has focused on providing health care coverage to all Americans. Largely ignored has been the growing problem of people with health care coverage who are struggling with medical debt from expenses that insurance does not cover. Out-of-pocket medical costs are forcing people to cut back [...]
Events leading to the simultaneous collapse of the real estate and mortgage markets in 2008 and 2009 left many homeowners with new financial challenges created by an economic recession, high mortgage balances and declining home values. Some homeowners who needed to stop foreclosure and obtain manageable payments were able to obtain the fresh financial start [...]
Many Arizona citizens are familiar with the general concept of bankruptcy, but are not sure exactly what the process entails. Federal law includes two different statutes that allow consumers to receive debt relief by filing for bankruptcy. These are called Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. A person's credit report will be affected for 10 [...]
Arizona residents who are considering filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy might have reservations about doing so because they fear losing their homes. When people file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, their homes could be sold to pay off debts if there is equity in the home. However, cases cannot remain open for an indefinite amount of time [...]
Tax season comes every year, but the real work for the IRS begins as April 15 creeps closer and the flood of last-minute tax returns hits the system for processing. Arizona taxpayers who file an error-free return should get a refund within 21 days. There might be a delay in processing the refund if the [...]
While bankruptcy has traditionally been an option for Americans in Arizona and across the nation, it was mostly used by businesses since the public didn't usually have access to debt. However, when debt was offered to citizens after World War II, more people found they couldn't meet their financial obligations and needed to rely on [...]
During the credit crunch of the last few years beginning in 2008, many homeowners in Arizona took out home equity or other secondary loans to make ends meet. Even with such measures, many people have still faced financial challenges and have had to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The Chapter 13 option to get out of [...]
For years, discussions about student loan defaults have largely centered on unemployment and other financial challenges that made loan repayment difficult for graduates. Federal law precludes student loans from being discharged in personal bankruptcy, so debt relief was impossible for some college graduates to achieve. Help appeared to have arrived in the form of a [...]
A struggling economy has left many Americans struggling with financial challenges caused by unemployment, business ownership, medical issues or bad investments. Some people reach the point where Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 bankruptcy becomes the best means of achieving debt relief. John L. Smith struggled with that decision the summer of 2012 in the spotlight [...]