Oak Park Real Estate & Estate Planning Blog

Many people who are considering the possibility of filing for consumer bankruptcy , either as a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy case, may be hesitant due to myths they have heard about the effects of bankruptcy. Numerous debtors are under the misconception that filing for bankruptcy means it will be impossible to get a loan or to rebuild your credit for many years following a bankruptcy discharge. In fact, it may be easier than you think to start the process of rebuilding your credit and obtaining certain types of loans relatively soon after a bankruptcy discharge. How can you get a loan or a line of credit after you receive a bankruptcy discharge? Our Oak Park bankruptcy lawyers have some information that can help you. Get the Facts About How Long Bankruptcy Will Impact Your Credit After a bankruptcy discharge, it is important to understand how long the bankruptcy will remain on your credit report and, ultimately, how long it will impact your ability to obtain loans. Th...

When you are considering the possibility of consumer bankruptcy , it is important to work with an Oak Park bankruptcy lawyer to ensure that the bankruptcy process goes smoothly and to identify any potential issues that may arise in your bankruptcy case. One such issue, depending upon your circumstances, is a loan or line of credit with a cosigner. If you do have a cosigner or a guarantor on any debt, it is critical to understand that your bankruptcy case could negatively impact your cosigner if you do not take certain steps in advance. As you likely know if you do have a cosigner or a guarantor, a cosigner is necessary in situations in which you cannot obtain a loan alone with your credit profile and history. Accordingly, in order to get the loan or line of credit, you might ask a family member with good credit to act as a cosigner for you. In such situations, you might be wondering if you are still eligible to file for bankruptcy. You can certainly file for bankruptcy and receive a...

It is important to understand the difference between secured and unsecured loans, and where your credit card debt falls. Secured loans are those in which the creditor maintains a security interest or for which the borrower must put up some kind of collateral, while unsecured credit does not require that the creditor have a security interest. Some of the most common secured loans are mortgage loans and auto loans. When you have a mortgage, the property is the collateral. Similarly, when you have an auto loan, the car functions as the collateral, and the creditor maintains a security interest in the vehicle. Usually, credit cards do not work this way. We tend to assume that all credit cards are unsecured, meaning that the creditor has no security interest in our property connected to our ability to buy on credit. However, according to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times , you may need to read the fine print on your credit card agreement a bit more closely. Credit ...

Did a parent or family member co-sign on your private student loans or for another substantial purchase on credit? You are likely to have many questions if you find out that your co-signer has decided to file for personal bankruptcy . Should Chicago residents in this situation worry about the status of their loans and their relationship with the creditor? A recent article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch helped to explain what happens when a consumer takes out a loan with the help of another’s credit profile, and that co-signer files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy . We will take a closer look at the situation described in the article to help explain what you should do if you learn that your co-signer is seeking bankruptcy protection. Help! My Co-Signer is Filing for Bankruptcy By taking a closer look at the scenario presented in the article, we can explain how a consumer should handle a situation in which her co-signer files for bankruptcy. According to the article, a conc...

Recent news stories have highlighted the serious problem in our country of student loan debt. Student loans are linked to a new consumer debt crisis across America. By and large, those reports tend to focus on private student loans, for which borrowers are not eligible for income-based repayment plans and often run out of deferment or other hardship options when attempting to make payments. And as many of us know, it is difficult although not entirely impossible to have your student loan debt discharged when you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. However, private students loans are not the only problem. According to a recent article in the Huffington Post , the federal student loan debt burden in our country is beginning to eerily mirror the subprime mortgage crisis. High Interest Rates, Overwhelming Debt How could student loans resemble subprime mortgages? On the surface, the two types of loans should not look alike at all. However, when we look at data on lower income borro...