Even though unemployment filings have skyrocketed, and countless businesses have been struggling during the coronavirus pandemic, bankruptcy courts have not been flooded with new cases- yet.
When compared to bankruptcy filings in April 2019, there were 47 percent fewer consumer bankruptcy filings in April 2020, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI).
This past year was not a profitable one for a number of U.S. businesses and retailers, resulting in many of them filing for bankruptcy in 2019. These businesses ranged from brick-and-mortar companies to online stores, and by the end of the year, more than 7,000 stores closed nationwide. Some of the well-known ones include:
Barneys New York
The luxury department store filed for bankruptcy in August 2019, which came as a surprise to many since the business has been running for a century and has survived many financial ups and downs. However, after filing for bankruptcy this summer, the company was purchased by Authentic Brands Group, a company that also owns Nine West. Authentic Brands will be licensing the Barneys New York product to Sakes Fifth Avenue, and B. Riley Financial has also purchased remaining company assets in November 2019. B. Riley intends to take Barneys’ luxury products and sell them at much lower price points through private sales.
Medical debt is the No. 1 cause of personal bankruptcy filings in the United States and a key reason more seniors are filing for bankruptcy. Another reason for the uptick in bankruptcy filings among Americans 50 and older is the rising cost of healthcare. We recently did a posting on Tips for Seniors to Avoid Medical Debt. The 2005 Bankruptcy Reform Act made it more difficult for some consumers to qualify for bankruptcy, but it did not change the number of people who had more debt than they could afford to pay.
Making matters worse for older Americans are the collection practices of unscrupulous debt collectors. A recent report from the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that debt collection was the most-complained about product or service for consumers over 62.
Bankruptcy brings with it emotional relief and getting their case filed and debts discharged relieves so much stress for our clients. Seniors can protect assets through bankruptcy. Social security, 401(k)’s, pensions, qualified profit-sharing plans, and individual retirement accounts worth up to $1.245 million are all exempt from creditors during bankruptcy. This means that retirement income and savings are out of reach and protected under federal law. Protecting equity, which is the value of a property, minus the amount owed, is important for seniors. Using a homestead exemption, designed to protect the equity of a main residence in a bankruptcy, will usually keep retirees from losing their homes. Florida homeowners can take advantage of the fact that Florida does not have a limit on the equity that is exempt.
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If you have any questions on this topic or are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade Garcia McMaken has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade Garcia McMaken website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
Nationwide bankruptcy filings were a little higher in August 2016 compared to a year earlier, breaking an ongoing trend of decline. Bankruptcy filings totaled 68,495 in August, which was an increase from July’s total of 61,340, and was approximately 1.1 percent higher than August 2015’s total of 67,777 (an increase of 718).
Year-to-date, there have been 528,397 bankruptcy filings nationwide for the first eight months of 2016 (about 66,049 per month), down from 2015’s year-to-date total through the end of August of 562,579 (about 70,322 per month), according to August 2016 AACER bankruptcy data reported by Epiq Systems.
August’s total of 68,495 bankruptcy filings was just over half of the peak total for the month of August recorded in 2010 of 135,771. The state with the highest cumulative filings for the first eight months of 2016 was California with 49,564. Illinois was second in year-to-date filings with 36,371. The next three states with the most cumulative filings were Georgia (30,751), Florida (30,640), and Ohio (24,986).
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If you are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com
Continued low interest rates and high filing costs have deterred consumers and businesses away from filing bankruptcy, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute. Bankruptcy filings in the U.S. totaled 910,090 in for calendar year 2014 (Jan. 1-Dec. 31), a 12 percent decrease from the 1,032,572 total filings during the same period a year ago. Noncommercial filings, were 875,635 during calendar year 2014, and represented an 11 percent decline from the 988,489 noncommercial filings during calendar year 2013, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute.
In December 2014, total bankruptcy filings declined 5 percent to 63,090 when compared to the 66,530 filings in December 2013. There were 60,625 total noncommercial filings in December 2014, also representing a 5 percent drop from the December 2013 noncommercial filings, which totaled 63,621.
The ABI Commission to Study the Reform of Chapter 11 released a report in December containing recommendations for modernizing chapter 11 business reorganizations. The final report recommends, “Improvements to the code to account for today’s evolving corporate climate and to encourage debtors to file before they have to liquidate.”
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http://www.acainternational.org/creditors-bankruptcy-filings-decrease-by-12-percent-in-2014-34672.aspx
If you are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all of your options. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
According to a recent study from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, people diagnosed with cancer are more than two-and-a-half times more likely to declare bankruptcy than those without cancer. Researchers also found that younger cancer patients had two- to five-fold higher bankruptcy rates compared to older patients, and that overall bankruptcy filings increased as time passed following diagnosis.
“This study found strong evidence of a link between cancer diagnosis and increased risk of bankruptcy,” the authors of the study wrote. “Although the risk of bankruptcy for cancer patients is relatively low in absolute terms, bankruptcy represents an extreme manifestation of what is probably a larger picture of economic hardship for cancer patients.” Medical debt is one of the main causes of filing for bankruptcy. In fact, it’s a contributing factor in more than half of all bankruptcy filings. This study raises important questions about the factors underlying the relationship between cancer and financial hardship.
If you are in a financial crisis and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
The International News Agency, Reuters, has reported that U.S. bankruptcy filings for both consumers and businesses have dropped 14% during the first half of 2012 and are on track to reach the lowest rate since before the start of the recession in 2008.
According to statistics from Eqic Systems Inc., consumers filing for bankruptcy have fallen 13% from the first half of 2011 and businesses filing for bankruptcy have taken a 22% decline. Samuel Gerdano of the American Bankruptcy Institute attributes the decline of bankruptcy filings to new, lower interest rates. Others have attributed the decline in bankruptcy filings to the high fees charged by the courts and attorneys.
While bankruptcy filings are at a low point, several large companies have made headlines this year by filing for bankruptcy such as, Eastman Kodak Co., textbook publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers Inc., and Hostess Brands Inc., the maker of Wonder Bread and Twinkies.
To read more on this story visit: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-bankruptcy-stats-declinebre8640ub-20120705,0,6184420.story
If you are in a financial crisis and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact an experienced attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
In recent years, filing for bankruptcy has become a luxury for people who have seen their debt snowball out of control due to events like job loss, foreclosure or medical emergency during the economic downturn. The average cost to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, the most common form of consumer bankruptcy, is more than $1,500, according to recent research submitted to the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The cost of filing for bankruptcy has risen in recent years as a result of the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, which aimed to reduce the number of bankruptcies taking place by adding more requirements to the filing process — including additional paperwork and the credit counseling and debtor education.
The research, conducted by a group of professors from Columbia University, the University of Chicago and Washington University in St. Louis, examined how bankruptcy filings spiked after people received their tax rebates in previous years. They estimate that another 200,000 consumers, who would otherwise not have enough money to file, will use their tax refunds to pay for bankruptcy this year.
Gerri Detweiler, director of consumer education for Credit.com warns consumer of ‘going it alone.’ “Make one mistake and your case is dismissed,” she said. “A dismissed bankruptcy hurts your credit just as badly as one you complete. So you are stuck with all of the downside without the fresh start.”
She also warns against ‘low-cost document preparation services’ claiming to help consumers fill out necessary documents. “It’s easy for consumers to think they’re getting sound legal advice even though the preparers aren’t lawyers,” she said.
To read more on this story visit: http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/money/money-some-seeking-bankruptcy-are-too-broke-to-file
If you are in a financial crisis and are considering filing bankruptcy, contact an experienced attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. at www.miamibankruptcy.com
