At Kain & Scott, we have an all-points bulletin and warning for those of you living in Minneapolis, Minnesota and are looking to file bankruptcy. Be very careful who you choose to file your bankruptcy case. Why? Because there are “professionals” out there that may have their bottom line as a priority over your well-being. Be very careful of people advertising to you who are located out of state. Be careful of those people advertising bankruptcy services on park benches, billboards, or even tv!

How do you know which St Paul Bankruptcy Lawyer is right for you? How do you know the law firm you select will show you empathy and be helpful and kind to you while you go through this struggle? I absolutely LOVE Google reviews, and lots of them. I am continually amazed at the people who have the courage to file bankruptcy and also the courage to leave a google review. Bravo to them and those reviews are so critically important for other Minnesotans suffering from overwhelming debt. However, there are things you need to avoid while searching for a lawyer too. If you fall prey to this it could make your experience turn into a disaster. How do we know? We've seen it time and time again.

Most Minnesota families live hand to mouth. Almost half of the households in America cannot cover a $400 emergency expense. Most secured debt payments, like rent, mortgage, or auto loans, are three or four times that amount. In other words, just one missed installment can mean a world of hurt. Most people lack the means to make catchup payments.

Most moneylenders begin adverse action, including the dreaded acceleration notice, after just two or three missed payments. An acceleration notice demands the entire loan balance immediately; the lender will no longer accept partial payments. In situations like this, a federally-guaranteed debt repayment plan is probably your best option. Almost everything you need to know about a Chapter 13 bankruptcy is described below.

Many Minnesota families have excessive credit card debts. Making matters worse, according to one estimate, 60 percent of cardholders struggle just to make the minimum payment. So, every month, the family goes deeper into debt. This downward debt spiral quickly becomes overwhelming.

Many “debt consolidation” firms only make empty promises. But there is a federal debt relief program that’s designed to do away with excess debt and give Minnesota families a chance to start over. But bankruptcy is a very big decision. Before you file your voluntary petition, it’s important to know everything about Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Many of us, when we are going through financial difficulties, have relied on credit cards to get us through.  We have “emergency credit cards.” We have the credit card to use in a pinch to get us through until the next pay check.  To think about not having that safety net is scary, right? So, for many of us, to think about filing bankruptcy, even if it means getting rid of the debt that haunts us, it also means the scary thought of losing that safety net.  What happens if I need money and I still have a week before my next pay check? What do I do? Does filing bankruptcy mean I lose all of my credit cards? What will be my back up plan? How long before I get another card? What will I do in the meantime?  These are all valid questions and these are things Kain & Scott can help you answer as we prepare you for bankruptcy

The average debt-laden college graduate has almost $30,000 in student loans. That amount has increased 25 percent since 2008. Even with low interest rates and extended repayment periods, the monthly payment is often several hundred dollars a month. That’s a lot of money for anyone, and especially for young people. Quite understandably, many of these individuals delay major purchases and are overly-cautious with their money.

Most likely, bankruptcy would affect a business partner. However, the effects are almost all positive.

Sometimes, liquidating a failing business is the best course of action. This issue is very common, as only a small percentage of new businesses survive past the first five years. A failed business does not necessarily mean that you and your partners are poor planners or businesspeople. It just means that, for whatever reason, a particular concept did not work out.

Overwhelming debt can have a serious impact on many aspects of our lives. The longer we continue to struggle with it, the more of a negative effect they can have on us. The stress alone can place serious strain on our health and well-being but it doesn’t need to be this way. Bankruptcy is an amazing financial tool which can greatly improve the lives of those struggling to stay on top of their bills. In this blog I’m going to discuss three of the most significant ways in which our Minneapolis Bankruptcy Lawyers can help you take back control of your lives and your finances. Let’s begin.

I know what you are thinking- what government sponsored debt consolidation plan? Not many people know that the government, indeed, has a government sponsored debt consolidation plan. If people knew about this and understood it, no one would ever try traditional debt consolidation plans and always contact a St Paul Bankruptcy Lawyer first. Let me begin by describing the highlights of this government sponsored plan.

 I love “Google Reviews”. Why? Because they are a wonderful barometer of what you will receive for food, service, or anything else with a business. What better way to determine what you will receive from a St Paul Bankruptcy Lawyer than to see the experience others had with the same firm right?

Last week I wrote about the timing of filing a bankruptcy case when determining how to know if you should file bankruptcy. The focus of that was when to file in the context of the collection process - filing to avoid the execution on a judgment and to avoid the entry of a judgment entirely. The idea was to give the people reading the blog a sense of the collection process and what a bankruptcy filing would create the most protection for someone looking at difficult to manage debt issues . This week I want to continue examining the timing issue, but instead of looking at the collection process, look at timing issues through the lens of the Bankruptcy Code, and its requirements for filing. And I want to spend some time examining the mortgage foreclosure process and how foreclosure affects the decision of when to file a bankruptcy case .

Having a medical problem is awful enough- but just wait until you get home and receive the medical bills. If you didn’t want to die before, you will now. It shouldn’t be this way. You should not have to go bankrupt to protect your family from medical problems. And yet, our health insurance coverages get worse and the medical out of pocket costs grow larger.

Apart from politicians and large medical providers, who else benefits from a system like this? No one! The problem with overwhelming medical debt is it’s so unpredictable and uncontrollable. You can’t help medical problems for the most part.

Nobody wants to file for bankruptcy. This is no secret, but for many people in Minneapolis each year it is their only hope for debt relief. At Kain & Scott when most of our clients come to visit us they’ve been struggling with the repercussions of an overwhelming debt problem for a very long time. Far too often this struggle could have been avoided if they would have met with our Minneapolis Bankruptcy Lawyers a lot sooner. Our Lawyers can help you avoid a variety of debt related problems. Here’s how:

In my last two blogs, I’ve written about some unexpected consequences that some of our clients experience as a result of filing a bankruptcy case.  These surprises come from different areas - from the fact that ACH payments can be discontinued to the fact that a lapsed car insurance policy can result in a safe driver being dropped into the risk pool when a new auto-owners policy is taken out.  This week I’ll continue to write about expecting the unexpected as a result of filing a bankruptcy case.

Absolutely not. Financial problems are so common that they touch almost everyone. Many people live paycheck-to-paycheck. So even a slight income disruption or a small unexpected expense is often devastating. One in four Minnesotans worry about money so much that they have PTSD-like symptoms. That figure is self-reported, so the actual number may be even higher.

In other words, if financial problems could affect your job, many of us would be out of work. That’s simply not a workable environment, so bankruptcy discrimination is illegal.

Bankruptcy gives fresh starts to distressed debtors. But it uses the least restrictive means to accomplish this goal. Property rights are sacred to many people in America, and that includes a contract between a debtor and a creditor. So, bankruptcy does not interfere with that contract.

Instead, a bankruptcy discharge removes the debtor’s legal obligation to repay debt. It does not affect the collateral consequences. Assume a judge discharges past-due university tuition. The school cannot do anything to collect the amount owed. However, it can withhold the student’s transcript until the debt is paid or otherwise resolved. A bankruptcy judge does not have the authority to order the school to release the transcript.