Reports show that U.S. consumer credit spending increased approximately 10 percent towards the end of 2011 in both revolving credit, such as credit card use, and non-revolving credit, such as major loans. This is the highest increase since 2001. During November 2011, outstanding revolving credit increased about $5.6 billion, while non-revolving credit, such as student and auto loans increased by about $14.78 billion. The government lending out student loans has reportedly made the largest increase, raising 31.9 percent. This generated an increase of $6.4 billion from student loans, alone.
There are many speculations as to the reasons behind this surge of consumer credit use. Some economists attribute this surge to consumers being willing to risk spending because they are more comfortable with their financial stance than they have been in the past. It is also said the recent consumer credit surge may be a sign that U.S. consumers are being forced to use their credit cards to fund ‘necessary expenditures.’ In contrast, other economists believe the increase in consumer credit spending is a result of banks instating new fees on debit card use and the attractive ‘cash back’ bonuses offered by credit card companies.
To read more on this story visit: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/10/us-usa-economy-consumercredit-idUSTRE80823O20120110
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. 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. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
Tag: Bankruptcy
Auto Lenders Pursue a Surprising New Type of Consumer
A recent report in the Wall Street Journal has shown that auto lenders are pursuing an unlikely growth market: people who have fallen behind on their mortgages and those with less than sterling credit. In the first three quarters of 2011, auto lenders issued roughly 205,000 loans to borrowers whose credit records showed they had been at least 60 days past due on their mortgage or experienced a foreclosure, up from roughly 80,000 during the same period in 2006.
The trend seems surprising, but there are reasons the auto industry is embracing the subprime category (individuals with a credit score below 619). For one the industry is seeing fewer bad auto loans; the amount of repossessions has actually fallen in recent years. Also, the recession has lead to more people choosing to keep to date on their credit card payments and car loans as opposed to making their mortgage payments on time. The auto industry also realizes this move opens the market to significantly more prospects. Today, more than half of all consumers fall into non-prime, subprime and deep subprime categories. These individuals carry a credit score below 679.
To read more on this story visit:
http://money.msn.com/credit-rating/article.aspx?post=425479b1-46f0-4d17-85c0-8792d13ff4b3
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. 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. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
Minnesota Bankruptcy Case Leads to an Unforeseen Religious Dispute
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Nancy Dreher ordered the arrest of Attorney Naomi Isaacson in Minnesota after an on-going bankruptcy case lead to an unveiling of religious and racial slurs in court documents against Judge Dreher and other court officials.
Isaacson represented a subsidiary group in the bankruptcy case called the Samanta Roy Institute of Science and Technology. After failing to turn over mandatory court documents and making accusations of bigotry and conspiracy in a memo concerning the court officials, Judge Dreher placed Isaacson under arrest. She also ordered that she and another attorney involved each pay $5,000 in penalties and attend legal ethics classes.
Judge Dreher, who claims no particular religious faith was repeatedly named “Nancy Dreher, the Catholic Judge,” in the memo. “It is referring to a mentality and an adherence to a universal creed of White Supremacy,” Judge Dreher stated, after reviewing the memo.
Judge Dreher has turned the matter over to Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis for further review.
To read more on this story visit: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-mn-anti-catholicfili,0,209481.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. 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. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
Bankruptcy Filings Down in 2011
According to recent statistics from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, bankruptcy cases filed in federal courts for fiscal year 2011 totaled 1,467,221, down 8 percent from the previous year. This was reflected in the filings of all bankruptcy chapters. Chapter 7 filings in 2011 were down 10 percent from 2010. Chapter 13 filings fell 4 percent. Chapter 11 filings fell 16 percent and Chapter 12 filings were down 4 percent.
Personal bankruptcies in South Florida fell in 2011, for the first time in five years. Attorney Timothy Kingcade attributes this to the backlog of foreclosures and under-employment. Many homeowners facing foreclosure have been able to put off bankruptcy as the lenders dealt with investigations of robo-signing and other issues stalling foreclosures in court. Filing for personal bankruptcy in South Florida can cost $2,000 or more, including lawyer’s fees, court costs, and mandatory credit counseling. With the number of South Floridians being out of work, filing for bankruptcy has become a luxury.
In December, 2,470 residents filed for bankruptcy in the South Florida district, which includes Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, according to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Miami. That was down 9 percent from November. For the year, there were 34,492 filings, down from about 38,000 in 2010.
To read more on this story visit: http://www.uscourts.gov/News/NewsView/11-11-07/Bankruptcy_Filings_Down_in_Fiscal_Year_2011.aspx
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bankruptcies-2012-20111223,0,5953361.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. 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. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
Beware of taking Cash Advances before Filing Bankruptcy
It’s important to remember that not all debt is dischargeable in bankruptcy. Almost all credit card debts are dischargeable, but when it comes to cash advances ‘The Bankruptcy Code’ provides that any cash advance, or combination of cash advances totaling more than $875 obtained within 70 days of the bankruptcy filing date are presumed to be non-dischargeable.
This rule, contained in Bankruptcy Code section 523(a)(2)(C)(i)(II), was imposed by Congress because it felt that consumers who obtained significant cash advances relatively close to their filing date knew, or should have known that they would be seeking bankruptcy relief. It was also designed to prevent consumers from running out and taking cash advances shortly before filing bankruptcy with no intention of paying on the debt.
If you are considering filing for bankruptcy and have recently taken out a large cash advance, it’s important you discuss this with an experienced bankruptcy attorney which can advise you of all your of 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, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
Economic Conditions Push U.S. Poverty Rate to New Heights
It is estimated that 46.2 million people are now considered to be living in poverty, which is 2.6 million more than last year. New census data released for 2010 show that the poverty rate has risen 15.1%. That’s up from 14.3% in 2009. With the current economic conditions and many Americans out of work, these statistics are not surprising.
The U.S. government defines the poverty line as an income of $22,314 a year for a family of 4 or $11,139 for an individual. The poverty rate for adults 18-64 rose to 13.7% and the rate for children under 18 increased to 22% in 2010. This translates to 1 in 5 children in America living in poverty. The rate for women living below the poverty line is 16.2% and for men the rate is 14%. Race was also a factor in the study. The poverty rate was lowest for non-Hispanic whites at 9.9%. Blacks had the highest rate at 27.4%, followed by people of Hispanic origin at 26.6%. Asians had a poverty rate of 12.1%.
The income used to calculate poverty status includes earnings, workman’s compensation, unemployment insurance, Social Security, veteran’s payments, pensions, interest and dividends.
To read more on this topic visit:
http://www.local10.com/money/29167705/detail.html?treets=mia&tid=2653406101813&tml=mia_12pm&tmi=mia_12pm_1_11000509132011&ts=H
If you have any questions on this topic or are in need of a financial fresh start, please contact our experienced team of bankruptcy attorneys at (305) 285-9100. 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. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
Bankruptcy Attorney Timothy Kingcade Discusses Bankruptcy Trends with South Florida’s Sun-Sentinel
Bankruptcy attorney Timothy Kingcade was recently quoted in the Sun-Sentinel and talked bankruptcy trends with workplace reporter, Marcia Pounds. The story was published on September 2, 2011 and discussed how the number of South Florida consumers filing for bankruptcy fell nearly 21 percent, to 2,690 in August, from 3,387 that same month in 2010.
Timothy Kingcade attributes this trend to a stalled home foreclosure process and people being unable to afford to file bankruptcy. “I see so many people who have been unemployed for 18 months. They say, ‘I need to file, but I need a job first,’ he said.
To read more on the story, visit:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/fl-bankruptcies-august-2011-20110902,0,7289393.story
Since 1996 Timothy Kingcade has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow by taking advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection laws. To compliment Attorney Kingcade’s extensive experience in bankruptcy law, he is also a certified public accountant (CPA), which provides him with a unique understanding of how to handle tax-motivated bankruptcy cases against the IRS.
If you have any questions on this topic or are in need of a financial fresh start, please contact our experienced team of bankruptcy and foreclosure defense attorneys at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
Student Loans go Unpaid as Younger Workers Face Difficult Conditions in the Labor Market
According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 11.2% of student loans were more than 90 days past due and the rate was 
steadily rising. Only credit cards had a higher rate of delinquency at 12.2%. Younger workers have continued to face the most difficult conditions in the labor market. Workers between 20 and 24 years old have a 14.6% unemployment rate, compared to the national average of 9.1% recorded in July.
Student loan debt outpaced credit card debt for the first time last year and is likely to top a trillion dollars this year as more students go to college and a growing number borrow money to do so. According to reports, two-thirds of bachelor’s degree recipients graduated with debt in 2008, compared with less than half in 1993.
Education policy experts expect that the mounting debt may have extensive implications for the current student borrower. Individuals finishing or leaving school with a lot of debt, may find their choices to be different than the generation before them. Things like buying a home, starting a family, a business, and saving for their own children’s college education may have to be put on hold for those with insurmountable student loan debt.
Students who borrow to attend for-profit colleges are especially likely to default. They make up about 12% of those enrolled in higher education, but almost half of those defaulting on student loans. According to the Department of Education, about a quarter of students at for-profit institutions defaulted on their student loans within three years of starting to repay them.
To read more on this topic visit:
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/08/16/more-student-loans-are-past-due/?KEYWORDS=student+loans
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/education/12college.html?_r=1
If you have any questions on this topic or are in need of a financial fresh start, please contact our experienced team of bankruptcy attorneys at (305) 285-9100. 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. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
Trend Alert: Decrease in Bankruptcy Filings May Signal Financial Struggles
An eight percent decline in bankruptcy filings nationwide may appear to be a positive economic sign. However, some industry experts attribute the decline to individuals not being able to afford to file for bankruptcy. The result may be a mass of pending bankruptcy filings, not unlike the shadow foreclosures feared in the real estate business. If the economy does not take a sharp turn for the better, those individuals who have been on the brink of bankruptcy will eventually be forced to file.
It is predicted that the number of bankruptcy filings will rise when the employment situation improves. When these individuals on the verge of bankruptcy return to work, they will be able to afford the filing fee and the necessary legal representation.
To read more on this topic visit:
http://articles.boston.com/2011-08-18/business/29901785_1_bankruptcy-filings-troubled-firms-berry-associates
If you have any questions on this topic or are in need of a financial fresh start, please contact our experienced team of bankruptcy attorneys at (305) 285-9100. 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. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.
What Debt is Dischargeable through Bankruptcy?
Bankruptcy laws specify that only particular types of debts can be discharged through bankruptcy. Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy allow borrowers to eliminate their unsecured debts. Unsecured debts include items such as credit card debt, medical bills, utility bills, service bills, personal loans, payday loans and judgments. Secured debts which are backed by some form of collateral, like a house, and debts incurred through fraudulent activity, student loans, tax debts, child support and alimony are typically not dischargeable in bankruptcy.
When you hire Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. our attorneys will provide a complete evaluation and give you an honest and accurate assessment of your financial circumstances. We help clients analyze their finances and determine the best path to debt relief. This past year our firm handled more than 1,500 bankruptcy cases, bringing debt relief to individuals, families and business owners throughout South Florida. If you are struggling with insurmountable debt do not wait any longer, set up your FREE office consultation today by calling (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.