Oak Park Real Estate & Estate Planning Blog

Will the coronavirus pandemic result in more consumer bankruptcy filings in the coming months? Given that thousands of people who own small business, who work in the restaurant industry, and who earn a living through the gig economy are now out of work and without incomes, many if not most of those Americans may need to seek bankruptcy protection. According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal , bankruptcy experts in the National Bankruptcy Conference (NBC) are urging the federal government to broaden bankruptcy protections for consumers and businesses alike during this unprecedented moment “to help ameliorate the financial damage stemming from the coronavirus.” More specifically, the article explains, bankruptcy law practitioners, scholars, and judges who make up the National Bankruptcy Conference advisory body argue that, “to blunt the economic fallout from the pandemic, special bankruptcy protections should be made available to more small businesses and bankruptcy court...

People in Illinois have been filing for consumer bankruptcy for decades. While you might not want to consider the possibility that you will need to file for personal bankruptcy more than once in your life, it is important to know whether that is an option that remains available to you. Indeed, many consumers do have to turn to bankruptcy more than once over a lifetime. In some cases, a consumer might file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy and complete the terms of the repayment plan, only to learn that she or he cannot pay massive amounts of unexpected medical debt a few years later after a job layoff. Or, for instance, a consumer might file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy when he or she is relatively young, and that person might wonder about filing for bankruptcy again after retirement. So, can you file for bankruptcy again? In short, the answer is yes, but the requirements for filing for consumer bankruptcy more than once depend upon the type of bankruptcy protection you are seeking and the amo...

If you are considering consumer bankruptcy , then you may be wondering how a personal bankruptcy filing will impact the belongings you currently have. For example, will you be able to keep your house, or does all of the equity in your home need to be turned over to the bankruptcy trustee? Can you keep your motor vehicle? How do bankruptcy courts handle property that has sentimental value, such as family photos or jewelry that you consider to be a family heirloom? The amount and kind of property that you will be able to keep if you file for bankruptcy depends upon the type of bankruptcy you are filing for, and then it depends upon the kind of property you have and want to retain according to Illinois’s bankruptcy exemptions. Let us explain in more detail. If You File for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy If you are planning to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you should know immediately that this is not a liquidation bankruptcy. To be clear, you will not need to liquidate your property up front i...

When consumer protection advocates and debt experts are looking at types of consumer debt, where does mortgage debt come into play? What, if any, is the link between mortgage debt and the likelihood of filing for consumer bankruptcy ? A recent article in M Report discusses the role that mortgages and housing more generally play in consumer debt. In short, the article suggests that mortgage debt tends to be treated differently by consumers than other types of debt, and in many cases, it is not a hindrance to consumers. The following is some additional information from that article. Mortgage Debt is Not Typically Counted as Consumer Debt One of the first things to know, according to the article, is that mortgage debt is not usually counted as consumer debt when analyzing whether amounts of debt are likely to lead to financial trouble. Indeed, as the article clarifies, “mortgage debt specifically is not counted as consumer debt” in most contexts. While many consumers do list mortgage...

If you have consumer debt in Illinois and do not make payments on it, there is only a certain amount of time under Illinois law that creditors can continue to take legal action against you according to the statute of limitations. Once the debt becomes time-barred , a debtor no longer has to worry about being sued over that debt. However, it is essential for debtors in Oak Park to know that there are actions they can take (often without even knowing it) that can revive their time-barred debt. In other words, if a debtor makes a particular kind of statement or performs a certain action, the clock on the statute of limitations might start all over again, and the creditor may be allowed to seek compensation through a civil lawsuit. According to a recent report in The Washington Post , a new rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) actually could result in debtors getting “tricked” into reviving those debts. Understanding How the Statute of Limitations Affects Creditor ...