Oak Park Real Estate & Estate Planning Blog

Medical debt has long been a major source of consumer debt and a primary reason that many individuals file for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. In the past, medical debt has often involved patients owing various debts to different facilities or owing money on a consumer credit card after charging a hospital bill or the costs of prescription medications. According to a recent report from NPR , a new kind of medical debt is taking hold across the country. In recent years, hospitals and other healthcare facilities have encouraged patients to sign up for hospital-specific credit cards or lines of credit to “consolidate health expenses.” This type of patient financing has led to even more medical debt, much of it unmanageable for consumers struggling to pay what they owe for health care. What do you need to know about hospital credit card debt, and what are your options for dealing with it? Our Oak Park consumer protection lawyers can provide you with more information. Medical Debt Now ...

If you currently have student loan debt and you are considering the possibility of consumer bankruptcy , you should know that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced a new process for discharging student loans. According to an article in The New York Times , working with the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), the DOJ “announced a new process that it said would help ensure that people in bankruptcy seeking relief on their federal student loans were treated more fairly, with clearer guidelines about what types of cases would result in a discharge.” Does this shift mean that more bankruptcy discharges will involve student loans, and more consumers with student debt will be able to wipe out that debt in Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases? It might, but it will depend on how many current student loan borrowers are actually eligible to have their student debt discharged under the existing bankruptcy system. Our Oak Park bankruptcy attorneys can say more. New Approach Will Provide Cl...

As the holiday season approaches, it is important to consider a range of issues if you are thinking about filing for personal bankruptcy . Depending upon your circumstances, it could make sense to file for bankruptcy before the holidays, or it could be more sensible to file for bankruptcy after the holidays. You should discuss your specific circumstances with a bankruptcy lawyer in Oak Park before you make any decisions. In the meantime, the following are some important considerations to keep in mind when you are thinking about bankruptcy around the holiday season. Debt Accumulated Close to a Bankruptcy Filing Will Not Be Dischargeable If you use your credit card to make charges for holiday gifts, holiday travel, holiday decor, or other expenses close to the time when you are planning to file for bankruptcy, you should know that these debts are unlikely to be discharged in a consumer bankruptcy case. Under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code , any purchases that are made within 90 days from the d...

When an individual files for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Illinois , they typically do so with the aim of receiving a bankruptcy discharge at the end of the bankruptcy case. Yet it can be confusing for a debtor to understand their rights in relation to a debt discharge and contact from debt collectors. For example, at what point, if any, can a debt collector attempt to collect on a debt that will soon be discharged in a bankruptcy case? Or, is there any time at which a debt collector can try to collect a debt that has been discharged? Our Oak Park bankruptcy lawyers can clarify your rights when it comes to debt discharges and debt collectors. The following are five things you should know about debt collectors and bankruptcy discharges in Illinois. 1. Debt Collectors Cannot Attempt to Collect Debts That Have Been Discharged Once you have received a bankruptcy discharge — meaning that eligible debts have been discharged — debt collectors cannot attempt to collect those debts. As...

Bankruptcy exemptions are extremely important in any consumer bankruptcy proceeding. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, which is a liquidation bankruptcy, it is important to know that bankruptcy exemptions allow a debtor to keep various assets so that they are not liquidated. To be clear, any assets that are exempt do not need to be sold, and the debtor can keep them while still receiving a discharge of eligible debts. In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case or another type of reorganization bankruptcy, exemptions are used to determine the amount of debt that the individual debtor must repay over the course of the repayment plan. If you are considering filing for bankruptcy in Illinois, especially if you are planning to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you may have started looking into bankruptcy exemptions to determine how they are likely to apply to your case. Yet it can be confusing to find that there are both federal bankruptcy exemptions and state bankruptcy exemptions. You may be wondering: ...