Oak Park Real Estate & Estate Planning Blog

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in millions of job losses, which in turn has left millions of Americans unable to pay their bills and mortgages. In some cases, struggling debtors are also dealing with long-term health problems as a result of the coronavirus on top of substantial medical debt. For many of these debtors, there are questions and concerns about how to handle the debt they are facing and whether it is possible to discharge medical debt from COVID-19 hospital stays and doctor’s appointments through consumer bankruptcy . In most cases, medical debt is dischargeable in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases. If you have questions about discharging medical debt related to COVID-19 in a personal bankruptcy case, you should seek advice from one of the experienced Oak Park consumer bankruptcy attorneys at our firm. COVID-19 is Resulting in Medical Debt for Consumers When a person is diagnosed with COVID-19 and has a moderate or severe case of the virus, hospitalization ma...

The COVID-19 emergency has resulted in millions of Americans losing their jobs. Prior to the pandemic, many consumers were already struggling to repay debts, and some were considering personal bankruptcy as an option. Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic closures began, a number of consumers in Illinois had recently filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or had finalized a Chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plan. Many financial experts are predicting that the rate of consumer bankruptcies will soar as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It is unclear whether the current structure of the U.S. bankruptcy courts will be able to handle that “coming wave of bankruptcies,” according to a recent article in Roll Call . Indeed, as the article suggests, “courts could be overwhelmed by a record number of newly jobless consumers looking to shed crushing debts.” Reexamining the Reasons for April’s Declining Bankruptcy Rates Last month, the overall rate of consumer bankruptcies showed a decline, with 30...

If you are struggling to manage debt and have been considering the possibility of filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy for some time, you may be concerned that you will not be able to file during the coronavirus pandemic. Whether you have been thinking about bankruptcy for some time or recently have started to consider personal bankruptcy as an option, you should know that you can still move forward with your case while Illinois and the rest of the country (and the globe) seeks to manage the outbreak and to prevent the spread of the virus. To be sure, filing for consumer bankruptcy during the COVID-19 emergency does not look too different from a bankruptcy filing that occurs under normal circumstances. We want to tell you more about the steps of the bankruptcy process you should anticipate, and to clarify how the coronavirus pandemic could change some of the ways those steps are completed. Work Directly with a Bankruptcy Lawyer to File Your Case You do not need to worry ab...

Bankruptcy law can be complicated and confusing even when there is no pandemic affecting consumers across the country. With the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in substantial job loss, illness, and medical bills in the Chicago area and throughout Oak Park, many debtors are considering their options for personal bankruptcy . While most rules concerning bankruptcy filings have not changed, there are some important changes to note. Some of these changes are temporary, while others are not. We want to tell you more about some of the ways in which COVID-19 is changing consumer bankruptcy cases. Passing the Means Test for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy You might know that, in order to be eligible for Chapter 7 bankruptcy as an individual debtor (or if you are filing as a married couple with your spouse), that you must be able to pass something known as the “means test.” The means test considers a debtor’s income, monthly expenses, and family size to determine whether that debtor has enough disposable i...

With jobless claims hitting a record-high in the United States as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, experts are anticipating that consumer bankruptcy filings are likely to increase significantly. As an article in The New York Times explains, the financial crisis of 2008 resulted in the loss of approximately 26 million job-loss claims beyond the average level of about 345,000. Now, with the coronavirus pandemic, the number of people without jobs could far exceed the rate of joblessness during the financial crisis. Further, job loss as a result of the coronavirus is happening at a much faster rate. As of April 2, 2020, jobless claims have reached a total of more than 6.6 million just since the previous week. To put that number in perspective, prior to this past week, the highest recorded number of unemployment filings in a single week was 695,000 in the year 1982. As more Americans are without a paycheck and unable to make credit card payments or payments on medical bills, cour...

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...