As stated in the previous blog, Congress has covered their donors by making student loans non-dischargeable in bankruptcy unless the student/debtor can prove undue hardship. Congress has placed the burden of proving undue hardship squarely on the backs of students/debtors and not big banks which is where the burden should be. After all, the big banks and schools profit immensely off students investing loans into educations, no degrees, and worthless degrees, knowing or should knowing these students had no business a) in college to begin with, b) where in the wrong program for them because there was no testing done to begin with to see what the student’s gifts and aptitude is, and c) these students/debtors were investing far more money into these classes than they could ever recoup in a job they were likely to get.

Student loans are an abomination. What we have done to our children is reckless and wanton destruction of their future. Yes, America has abolished slavery, but when you look at some of these people saddled with overwhelming student loan debt, and many with no accompanying degrees of any kind, it is little wonder the economy is sluggish. With all these Americans saddled with overwhelming student loan debt who has surplus money to spend on anything else?

Getting rid of debt in bankruptcy is a huge step toward getting your life back. But the second step is important too. Repairing your credit is an important step to getting your life back. For example, a lot of people find out after they file bankruptcy that bankruptcy itself doesn’t clear the public records of judgments entered against you pre-bankruptcy filing. People also find out their credit reports are wrong and need helping fixing them. We had a lot of people calling us and asking us who we recommend for auto and home financing and also can you give me some nuggets to rebuild our credit?

Some people are confused as to why they have to pay a trustee when they file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. I get the confusion. Often, it can feel a little bit like being picked on when you are down and out. It is not meant to be that way though. You see, when you file bankruptcy, you must disclose the existence of all your assets. Upon filing the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy you technically do not own your assets anymore, a bankruptcy estate does.

 Jump for joy! Yes, this is exactly what you will do immediately after filing bankruptcy. I realize you have better things to do than file bankruptcy. Many things come to mind really. A walk in the park, playing with your children, playing the banjo, any number of things. But, if you have anxiety like I do, there is no better feeling than solving a problem that has plagued you for good. And such as it is with crippling debt. Crippling debt destroys your physical, mental, and financial life. It sucks the life out of you. And to have something that destructive out of your life for good is joyous!

What on earth is a motion for relief from the automatic stay in bankruptcy? In bankruptcy, like any other legal field there is legal jargon that is often hard to recognize unless you spend your days in the trenches like we bankruptcy lawyers do. When a petition for bankruptcy is filed with the bankruptcy court, debtor automatically invokes a court ordered injunction against all her/his creditors barring the creditor from doing all sorts of things to debtor to try and collect on a pre-petition debt. This court order is called the automatic stay. It is a powerful weapon against creditors who are abusive and threatening. The automatic stay legally prevents creditors from collecting from debtors. It is a time out if you will.

A lot of people get by, by borrowing items that they either do not want to purchase or they cannot purchase. 

Minnesotans who file bankruptcy trust Kain & Scott. As Minnesota’s oldest, largest, and most Google reviewed bankruptcy law firm, our Google reviews speak for themselves. These reviews come from the heart of our clients, former clients, and people who know and love us. I am always humbled to read reviews left by people. They put such thought into their reviews and you can tell the reviews are left with much heart and meaning. You see, at Kain & Scott, we honor the courage it takes for our guests to reach out to us for help.

If you are a business owner COVID 19 presents challenges regardless of which kind of business you own. But for some businesses, COVID 19 is altogether disastrous. Take the restaurant industry as one example. In Minnesota, restaurants were closed for a certain period of time. While the PPP loan stimulus kept many afloat short term, those funds are now long gone. The trouble is the business has not come back though and the funds are gone. Sure restaurants in Minnesota are allowed to be open under strict guidelines, but when you have a wary public of any kind public gatherings, the number of people actually go to restaurants to eat in side is far less.

I can only imagine the thoughts coming across your mind as you read this title. One of the policy considerations behind bankruptcy is the idea that bankruptcy is good for the economy. What? How can this be true? Let me ask you a simple question; do people who are suffering from enormous debt purchase things? No, they do not. They don’t purchase things because they cannot afford to purchase anything because most of their net income goes to service their debts.

Kain & Scott is Minnesota’s nicest bankruptcy law firm guaranteed or 100% off your fees™*. What does this mean? You can find our complete guarantee on our website at www.kainscott.com. Basically, if you don’t think Kain & Scott is Minnesota’s nicest bankruptcy law firm (most kind and helpful) and you tell us within 30 days of filing the bankruptcy case, and we cannot rectify the problem to your complete satisfaction, we will not only refund 100% of the attorney fees you paid us thus far, but we will also pay for you to have another bankruptcy lawyer complete your bankruptcy for you. Now is that confidence or what? You don’t guarantee your service will be the most kind and helpful unless it really is the most kind and helpful.

Don’t listen to the supposed “gurus” who tell you to avoid bankruptcy. Some of these supposed “gurus” filed bankruptcy themselves. And now, they tell you not to file bankruptcy. I sometimes wonder who is paying these people to say this. Is it big corporations or credit card companies? If bankruptcy was good for the guru why is it not good for you too? One even has to be careful with “debt consolidation” companies who are owned in whole or in part by big finance companies.

If I were a Minnesotan looking to file bankruptcy one of the things I would love to know is what do people think, who have already filed bankruptcy in Minnesota, after they filed the bankruptcy? Do these people regret the decision they made to file bankruptcy? Are they thankful they made the difficult decision to file bankruptcy? Would they file bankruptcy again knowing what they know now? These are all wonderful questions I would want to know before I stuck my toes in the bankruptcy waters. Thankfully, there is no need to wonder about these questions. You see, our former guests know exactly how you feel right now. The nerves, the apprehension, and the scared out of your mind feelings you have. Our former guests all felt the same way. But what our guests found is once they filed the bankruptcy and got their lives back, they never regretted the decision to file.

COVID 19 has changed a lot of things for a lot of people. If you have a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy plan that was confirmed prior to March 27, 2020, you may have the ability to extend your plan. Under the CARES ACT, Congress extended the maximum Chapter 13 plan to 84 months from 60 months. But this only applies to those people who already have Chapter 13 plans confirmed as of March 27, 2020. Also, there is a sunset provision in the Act. You must have a plan confirmed by March 27, 2021 to qualify for the extension. 

At Kain & Scott we authored the book on bankruptcy and attorneys, “Filing Bankruptcy Sucks, Your Lawyer Should Not”. Isn’t this a great title for a bankruptcy book? I love it! It speaks to exactly how one feels about bankruptcy and lawyers who help you through it. Just the thought of filing bankruptcy for some can send them into a full blown panic attack. I get this. The thought of filing bankruptcy can be daunting and very scary. At Kain & Scott, we honor the courage it takes for you to file bankruptcy. We honor that courage by having the most helpful and kind bankruptcy team of staff and lawyers in the state of Minnesota, period! 

There is a benefit to filing bankruptcy that so many people miss. And after they file the bankruptcy and get a discharge they are surprised to learn of this benefit. You see, so many people mistakenly believe that bankruptcy ruins your credit, and maybe forever. The truth is, just the opposite occurs. People are always surprised to learn that they are able to get credit after bankruptcy. I speak to numerous people who a year after bankruptcy are buying homes, cars, and get credit cards and other lines of credit. They should not be surprised by this at all. You see future lenders don’t care if you fail to pay your creditors, what they really care about is are you going to pay us back if we lend you money?