Oak Park Real Estate & Estate Planning Blog

Whether you recently retired or you have been retired for quite some time, there are a variety of reasons that you may be struggling to pay off debt. For some retirees, planning ahead for retirement did not take into account all of the expenditures that would occur during retirement, and credit card debt can rise. For many people in retirement, unexpected medical bills can result in a significant amount of medical debt that may feel almost impossible to manage on a fixed retirement income. If you are in a situation where you are retired but you do not know how you can manage your debt, you might be thinking about the possibility of consumer bankruptcy. Should retirees file for bankruptcy ? There is no single answer to that question, and it will be important to consider the particular facts of your case with an Oak Park bankruptcy lawyer . In the meantime, the following are some factors that you should consider when deciding whether you may want to file for personal bankruptcy in retire...

After you have retired, you are most likely living on a fixed income and are relying on Social Security for income, as well as income from a retirement account or pension that you built up during your working life. For many older adults in retirement, the possibility of having to consider bankruptcy due to debt can be devastating, and most seniors want to do everything they can to end up in a situation where they cannot afford to live while paying off substantial and crushing debt. For many elderly Americans, overwhelming debt after retirement results from unexpected medical bills or long-term care, or in some cases, the decision to file for a “gray divorce.” No matter what the underlying reason for your debt, should you be considering consumer bankruptcy if you have already retired? And is bankruptcy even an option for you? The following are some key pieces of information to keep in mind. You Might Not Have Any Non-Exempt Assets First, and most importantly, you should seek advice ...

If you are struggling with debt after retirement, you may be considering the possibility of filing for consumer bankruptcy . Indeed, you can incur many unexpected and costly expenses after retirement, including medical bills or costs of long-term care. For many seniors, personal bankruptcy can be daunting. You may have concerns about losing valuable property and retirement benefits, and you might be worried about whether or not you will need to go back to work. There are many specific questions that seniors who are thinking about Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy should consider, and we want to go over some of those key issues with you concerning U.S. bankruptcy law . Will Consumer Bankruptcy Benefit You? The first thing you should consider if you are an older adult or at retirement age is whether filing for consumer bankruptcy will be beneficial to you. There are many people in a variety of financial situations for whom personal bankruptcy can be beneficial. However, there are a ...

More older adults, including those who have retired, are filing for consumer bankruptcy . For some people, filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy is the best decision to deal with debt. Yet bankruptcy presents particular difficulties for seniors given that there is not as much time to bounce back financially. Indeed, filing for bankruptcy after retirement can result in the debtor needing to return to work in order to get back on his or her feet. A recent article in Kiplinger discusses tips for older adults dealing with debt in retirement. We want to provide you with more information about managing debt after you retire, and to give you more information about what you might expect after a bankruptcy during your retirement. Tips for Managing Particular Types of Debt As the article emphasizes, “declining income and medical expenses are the leading causes of older Americans’ financial stress.” About two-thirds of retirees who file for bankruptcy do so as a result of ...

When we talk about the financial crisis and the bursting of the housing bubble, we often discuss it in the past tense—as something that occurred about a decade ago and is now over. However, many consumers in Oak Park, Illinois and across the country continue to struggle with debt , and many are still dealing with the lingering effects of the financial crisis. According to a recent article in Marketplace , seniors are having particular difficulty recovering from the economic collapse. Some are filing for personal bankruptcy , while others are attempting to live off of limited incomes while still making payments on debt. What debt relief options are available to older adults, and are those debt relief options different from those available to younger people? Lost Money in Retirement Accounts There are many reasons that seniors are struggling with their finances in the decade after the economic collapse, including those who saved significant amounts of money in reti...

Facing a significant amount of consumer debt can be difficult for Oak Park residents of all ages, especially when the debt seems insurmountable. In many cases, consumers who are dealing with debt make the decision to file for bankruptcy in order to get a fresh start. But is such a decision the right one for older adults who are planning to retire soon? According to a recent report from NBC News , retiring with consumer debt can be complicated. In particular, many middle-class earners who are facing medical bills in older adulthood are finding that their options are limited to retiring with debt or filing for personal bankruptcy. Why are more people retiring with consumer debt, and what solutions might exist? What Happens When You do Not Reach the Goal of Being Debt Free Before Retirement? One of the most pressing questions for older adults who are nearing retirement is this: What happens when you do not reach the goal of being debt free before you retire? As t...

For America’s aging population, consumer debt is a serious problem. As many Chicago residents know, a substantial portion of the country’s unpaid consumer debt has arisen from costly medical bills, as a report from CBNC pointed out, and many of those patients facing seemingly insurmountable healthcare costs are at or nearing retirement age. In addition to hospital bills and healthcare fees, many of America’s seniors are also dealing with the fact that they lost much of their savings during the recession and do not have as much income for retirement as they expected. In some cases, Americans aged 65 and older simply do not have enough to live on with retirement savings and Social Security checks alone, according to a recent article in Bankrate.com . What happens when these seniors start relying on credit cards to pay for monthly bills and essentials? How Seniors Amass Credit Card Debt Most of us assume that, by the time we reach the age of retirement, we will have en...