Oak Park Real Estate & Estate Planning Blog

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...

While some reports suggest that consumer bankruptcy rates are falling in Oak Park and throughout the U.S., there are certain populations that may be struggling with debt at higher rates than others. More precisely, according to a recent article in Forbes Magazine , older Americans continue to file for bankruptcy at particularly high rates due to insurmountable medical bills. Many seniors who have already filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy have described it as a “godsend,” emphasizing that they would not have been able to survive if they had not made the decision to file for bankruptcy in order to deal with hospital bills and surgery costs that were out of reach. Why do older Americans have higher medical debt than individuals in other age groups? If you are or an elderly loved one with substantial medical debt are thinking about filing for personal bankruptcy, what else do you need to know? Seniors Experience Serious Medical Conditions Requiring Costly Surgeries at Si...