Kingcade Garcia McMaken, P.A. Bankruptcy Attorneys

The amount of money owed to financial institutions is considered household debt. This can include various forms of consumer debt such as student loans, auto loans and credit card debt, as well as mortgage loans. According to the latest household debt report, released by Federal Reserve Bank of New York, balances from mortgages have increased in the fourth quarter of 2014.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s report clearly shows the growing trend in borrowing and indebtedness. Also according to the report, outstanding household debt increased by $117 billion, from the third quarter of 2014. This one percent increase has placed total household indebtedness at a staggering $11.83 trillion as of Dec. 31, 2014.

Compared to the fourth quarter of 2013, total debt has gone up $326 billion. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s report has been based on data collected from New York Fed’s Consumer Credit Panel, with a nationally representative sample drawn from anonymized Equifax credit data.  Mortgage debt appeared to have the highest increase by $39 billion, while student loans followed closely behind with an increase by $31 billion.

Additionally, we saw an increase in auto loan debt by $21 billion and credit card debt by $20 billion. Outstanding student loan debt reached $1.16 trillion. Overall, delinquency rates for 2014’s fourth quarter remained unchanged at 4.3 percent. However, auto loans and student loan rates grew worse.

Donghoon Lee, research officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York stated, “Although we’ve seen an overall improvement in delinquency rates since the Great Recession, the increasing trend in student loan balances and delinquencies is concerning. Student loan delinquencies and repayment problems appear to be reducing borrowers’ ability to form their own households.”

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.

Source: http://www.acainternational.org/creditors-household-debt-continues-upward-climb-35086.aspx

Bankruptcy officials in South Florida discovered a couple was hiding assets from the courts while filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. When bankruptcy trustees paid a surprise visit to the couple’s home, they discovered a Presidential Rolex watch suddenly disappeared from the wife’s wrist. The discovery led to investigators uncovering $120,000 worth of hidden assets in the form of jewelry and artwork, all of which the couple claimed to have pawned.

The judge decided to reject the couple’s request to discharge their debts totaling $2.9 million as a result of the lies and concealing assets. Seven years after their failed attempt at filing for bankruptcy protection, the couple was charged with one count of bankruptcy fraud and sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison.

The couple still owes all of the original debts plus an additional $27,295 in restitution owed for the trustee’s services. The couple’s behavior caused them to lose their homes and their personal belongings, including family heirlooms, jewelry and clothing, much of which was auctioned off at “fire sale prices.”

This case comes as a warning to anyone considering hiding assets when filing for bankruptcy.  This can include: lying about owning assets, transferring assets into someone else’s name or creating fake liens or mortgages to make assets look as if they have no value. When you file for bankruptcy, you must disclose everything you own and all your debts, in exchange for having your debts “discharged.”  If you do not fully disclose your assets, you will not be granted a discharge.  However, this is just one of the consequences you will face.  You will also be subject to criminal penalties and will not be able to discharge those debts in subsequent bankruptcies.

Click here to read more on this story.

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.

A recent statistic from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) revealed that 15.7 percent of NFL players have filed for bankruptcy 12 years after retirement.  For many of us it’s hard to believe how professional athletes, who earn so much money, could end up bankrupt.

The report entitled, “Bankruptcy Rates Among NFL Players with Short-Lived Income Spikes,” focused on the traditional model of “consumption smoothing.” An athlete’s income peaks almost immediately after school while they are still very young, the exact opposite of most Americans.  They retire young and in the vast majority of cases, never earn at the same levels.  Because of this model, it is difficult for them to save.  They are often taken advantage of financially and ill-equipped to manage the amounts of money they are earning at the time.

The data finds that bankruptcy filings begin “very soon after retirement” (but just 1.9% of retirees have filed after two years) and “continue at a substantial rate through at least the first 12 years of retirement.”   Surprisingly, the bankruptcy rates were not affected by a player’s career length.  Meaning: playing for longer did not make it any less likely a player would go bankrupt.

The report includes data on all players drafted to the NFL from 1996 to 2003.

Click here to read more on retired NFL players going bankrupt.

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.

Bankruptcy filings for the end of March 2015 were down 12 percent from the previous year, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Total bankruptcy filings as of March 31, 2015 from the past twelve months totaled 911,086 compared to the previous 12-month period, which totaled 1,038,280.

Of the 911,086 filings between March 2014 and March 2015, 884,956 were non-business bankruptcy filings. More than 300,000 of those were Chapter 13 proceedings, 26,130 were Chapter 7 proceedings, 7,053 were Chapter 11 and only 354 were Chapter 12.

Click here to read more on the decrease in bankruptcy filings.

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.

If you are experiencing extreme financial hardship, filing for bankruptcy can be one of the best decisions you make. Below are seven signs you should move forward with filing for bankruptcy.

1. Putting everyday necessities on credit cards. If you are racking up credit cards with everyday necessities, like groceries and gas, it may be time to move forward with your bankruptcy filing. Oftentimes we see clients spending nearly their entire paycheck on debt repayment. This becomes a vicious cycle. You continue to accrue interest and finance charges on these cards, and eventually you will owe more than you can ever afford to pay off.
2. Paying credit cards with credit cards. Another sign bankruptcy protection might be the answer for you is if you are making one credit card payment with another credit card. If you are regularly taking out cash advances to pay another cash advance loan, you are only postponing your debt repayment, not lessening it.
3. Interest rates rising. If your lenders are increasing your interest rates due to missed payments, you may want to consider filing for bankruptcy. If you start missing payments, lenders, particularly credit card companies will raise your interest rate by as much as 30%! If your interest rate is that high, you are only paying interest each month and not the balance.
4. Working multiple jobs. If you are working two or three jobs and still struggling financially, bankruptcy may be your best option. Oftentimes, an extra income is enough to reduce your debt. If you are still lagging behind on your bills while working multiple jobs, you may need to consider more drastic options.
5. Being sued / facing wage garnishment. If your lenders are pursuing a court order to garnish your wages, you should consider filing for bankruptcy protection. If the lenders are successful, they will make an arrangement with your bank or your employer to take money directly from your paycheck. If this happens, it can lead to more financial problems.
6. Debt affecting your work and personal life. If your financial stress is affecting your work and personal life, you may want to consider filing for bankruptcy. Your financial problems will become much worse if your performance suffers and you are fired. Filing for bankruptcy will give you a fresh start with your finances and eliminate the financial stress and pressure you have been under.
7. Dipping into retirement accounts. If you are considering taking money from your retirement account to pay your current debt, bankruptcy is a better option. Keep in mind, most retirement accounts are protected in bankruptcy, therefore you should avoid pulling out any money before you file.

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.

Related Resources:

http://www.moneycrashers.com/when-reasons-why-file-bankruptcy/

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has reached an agreement with the three major credit bureaus that will help eliminate stress for consumers burdened by medical debt. The new policy will wait 180 days before adding delinquent medical bills to consumers’ credit reports. This means consumers will have a grace period to navigate through the tangled web of payments and reimbursements. Consumers often endure months of stress, going back and forth with insurance companies and doctors, to determine how much they actually owe.

The Consumer Protection Financial Bureau published a report in December 2014 that revealed many consumers who were behind on paying medical bills showed no other signs of financial distress. The report also revealed that 22% of those consumers have only medical bills showing up as unpaid on their credit reports.

According to the CPFB many of those consumers were unaware of their outstanding medical bills.  In some cases, this outstanding debt has been a barrier for consumers applying for a mortgage or even getting a new job.

Although positive changes are being made to assist those with medical debt, consumers still face many problems involving substantial medical debt, including:

1. Determining exactly what they owe and to whom they owe it to. Consumers can often accrue multiple bills from a single hospital visit;
2. The size of medical bills in comparison to their income and other expenses;
3. Medical debt is often unforeseen and therefore many consumers have little savings to deal with the financial impact of such debt.

Click here to read more on this story.

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