Oak Park Real Estate & Estate Planning Blog

Debtors in Illinois consider personal bankruptcy for many different reasons, including medical debt, student loan debt, credit card debt, and other types of debt. If you have a substantial amount of credit card debt and are thinking about the possibility of filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Oak Park, you should know that you are not alone. Credit card debt is a common form of debt that results in bankruptcy filings in Illinois and across the country, and it is routinely discharged in consumer bankruptcy cases. If you have credit card debt and are thinking about bankruptcy, the following are some of the key things you should know. Consumers Owe Billions in Credit Card Debt According to a recent study conducted by WalletHub, credit card debt in America is climbing. Indeed, “consumers added a total of $86.2 billion in new credit card debt to their tab during 2021, capped off by a $73.1 billion increase during the fourth quarter alone.” In the first quarter of 2...

While many consumers worry about the aftermath of filing for personal bankruptcy , it is critical for you to know that you can start improving your credit almost immediately after you receive a bankruptcy discharge. For many debtors in Illinois and across the country, Chapter 7 bankruptcy can allow for a fresh financial start, while Chapter 13 bankruptcy can allow for debt reorganization and can, in many cases, allow homeowners to avoid bankruptcy. Yet many debtors hold off on filing for bankruptcy because they assume it will be difficult to rebuild credit after a consumer bankruptcy. We want to emphasize that you can rebuild your credit after filing for bankruptcy, and the following are some key steps to get you started. If you have additional questions or need assistance with your bankruptcy filing, you should seek advice from an experienced Oak Park consumer bankruptcy attorney. Apply for a Retail Credit Card or a Secured Credit Card In order to rebuild your credit after a consum...

One of the reasons that so many consumers worry about debt and often wait to file for bankruptcy is that they are concerned about a possible hit to their credit score. Creditors do look at credit scores when deciding whether to extend credit to a consumer, and credit scores can have a major impact on a consumer’s ability to buy a car or a house, and sometimes even to be considered for a particular job. What many consumers do not realize is that personal bankruptcy does not always have a long-lasting effect on their credit score. Indeed, many people who file for bankruptcy bounce back quickly and see their credit scores rebound in much less time than they expect. Yet we do not want to talk about credit scores in relation to consumer bankruptcy today. Rather, we want to say more about a recent NPR article discussing a change to FICO credit scores. According to the article, many consumers are likely to see a drop in their credit scores as a result of the changes. We will say more ab...

If you are considering personal bankruptcy , you will likely be required to go through credit counseling. In fact, you will probably be required to go to credit counseling twice at different stages of the bankruptcy process. Whether you are filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you should learn more about credit counseling so that you know what to expect. An article in NerdWallet discusses various aspects of the bankruptcy credit counseling process, and we want to share them with you here. If you have additional questions or need assistance filing for bankruptcy, you should get in touch with an Oak Park bankruptcy attorney. Learning More About Credit Counseling Credit counseling is a process in which a debtor learns about whether she or he actually needs to file for bankruptcy protection, and to learn more about the benefits and limitations of consumer bankruptcy. During credit counseling, debtors also learn about bankruptcy alternatives that may be available f...

Now that we are in tax season, many Oak Park residents are filing their income tax returns and some are expecting refunds. When you are anticipating an income tax refund but are also thinking about filing for personal bankruptcy , it is important to learn more about how tax refunds are handled in a bankruptcy proceeding. In other words, will you get to keep your tax refund if you file for consumer bankruptcy ? There is no straightforward answer to that question since the answer depends on a number of different factors. We will say more about how income tax refunds are treated in a bankruptcy case. Timing of When You Earned the Income Tax Refund The first question you should ask when determining whether you will get to keep your income tax refund when filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy is when you earned the income that was taxed and for which you are receiving a refund. Under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code , any refund that results from income earned and taxed prior to the date that you f...

If you are carrying a significant balance on your credit cards, you may not be alone with your debt struggles . But just because more Americans are carrying more credit card debt does not mean that living with revolving balances is a long-term solution to your financial problems. According to a recent article in Nerd Wallet , with rising interest rates, more people who carry substantial revolving balances may find their credit card bills even more difficult to manage. Since last year, revolving credit card balances across the country have risen by about 5% to $420.22 billion. For some of those debtors, filing for personal bankruptcy may be the best solution if paying off the credit card debt does not seem feasible. Average Credit Card Debt and Difficulty with Repayment According to the article, the average household in the U.S. carries a revolving credit balance of almost $7,000. Revolving balances refer to those balances that you do not pay off, but that you ca...

Starting on July 1st, consumers in Oak Park, Illinois and throughout the country may have started seeing changes to their credit scores despite making no changes to their personal finances. According to a recent article in MarketWatch , a new policy that took effect at the beginning of this month will result in around 12 million consumers seeing an uptick in their credit scores from all three nationwide consumer credit reporting agencies. In particular, having a record of consumer bankruptcy on your credit report may, in certain cases, have less of an impact on your credit score. What else do you need to know about the ways in which Equifax, Experian, and Transunion will be reporting credit scores from this point forward? Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Will be Gathering More Specific Information As the article explains, Equifax, Experian, and Transunion, as of July 1st, “will begin collecting more specific information about the public records that are included on ...

Allegations have been levied against payday lenders across the country concerning deceptive lending practices . According to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune , debtors who may have been victims of deceptive lending practices in Illinois now may be eligible to have their balances waived. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan brought a lawsuit in 2014 that made allegations against payday lenders concerning “deceptive fees and costs.” Earlier this month, an Elgin-based payday lender agreed to a settlement, which includes forgiving “$3.5 million in small-dollar, high-interest loans.” What else do you need to know about the recent abusive debt practices settlement? And will the settlement make a difference in lending practices among other payday lenders in Illinois? Details of the Lawsuit and Against All Credit Lenders All Credit Lenders is a company that opened its doors, so to speak, in 1999. While it does have a number of storefront locations in the Chicag...

If you are thinking about filing for personal bankruptcy in Illinois , there are many factors to consider. For some residents of the Chicago area, the relationship between consumer bankruptcy and small business loans may be one of those factors. Obtaining credit for your business after you have declared bankruptcy is similar in many ways to getting credit for other purchases—potentially difficult in the time period immediately following bankruptcy, but certainly within the realm of possibility once you have rebuilt your credit. However, there are other significant considerations for Illinoisans who are seeking financing for business purposes. According to a recent article in The Wall Street Transcript , small business owners should consider a number of issues in relation to their personal finances. Keeping Your Business Profile and Personal Credit History Separate Generally speaking, if you have a small business, it is a good idea to keep your business credit history sep...