Tag: Puerto Rico

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Puerto Rico Files for Largest U.S. Municipal Bankruptcy

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Last week Puerto Rico filed for municipal bankruptcy with a total of $123 billion in debt and pension obligations. It is the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in U.S. history, far exceeding Detroit’s $18 billion bankruptcy filing in 2013.

Governor Ricardo Rossello said, “Given the deficit that we inherited, it is my responsibility to guarantee the best interests of the Puerto Rican people.”

The court proceedings could potentially make the island solvent again for the first time in decades. However, many of the prominent Wall Street firms who own Puerto Rico’s bonds are not too happy about the bankruptcy filing because they fear they won’t get paid back the money they are owed.

Puerto Rico has been in an economic recession for more than a decade and the unemployment rate is 11.5 percent.  The island’s financial crisis is so bad that Congress installed a Fiscal Oversight Board last year to call the financial shots. However, the board stopped negotiations with creditors last week and filed for bankruptcy.

While on the campaign trail, Donald Trump said he would not “bail out” Puerto Rico. He repeated that again in a recent tweet. His budget director also said that the White House pushed hard to ensure no federal dollars would go toward paying the island’s debts in the latest Congressional budget deal.

If you are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all 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://money.cnn.com/2017/05/03/news/economy/puerto-rico-wants-to-file-for-bankruptcy/

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/03/business/dealbook/puerto-rico-debt.html?_r=1

Bankruptcy Law, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Puerto Rico Rescue Bill Guided by U.S. Bankruptcy Rules

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A U.S. congressional draft bill to help rescue Puerto Rico from its economic crisis was released this week and contained elements of U.S. bankruptcy law.   The draft includes sections of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code that allow bankrupt entities under certain circumstances to force creditors to take reduced payouts.

Puerto Rico has $70 billion in debt and has an unfunded state pension liability of nearly $44 billion.  The new bill will provide Puerto Rico the tools to impose discipline over its finances, meet its obligations and restore confidence in its institutions.

The bill would also create a federal board to oversee the island’s finances, monitor its accounting and help curb spending.  It would also require Puerto Rico to make efforts to restructure debt consensually with its creditors.

If the talks failed, the island or its public entities could file for a court-supervised debt restructuring process based on key statues within U.S. bankruptcy law.  That would allow Puerto Rico to force such deals on holdout creditors.

Click here to read more on this story.

If you are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all 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 Law, Debt Relief, Timothy Kingcade Posts

U.S. Supreme Court will Hear Puerto Rico’s Appeal to Restructure $72 Billion Debt

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In December, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Puerto Rico’s bid to reinstate a law that would allow restructuring of the debt burdened U.S. territory’s public agencies.

The U.S. commonwealth has nearly $72 billion in debt. Puerto Rico will get to argue before the top U.S. court that the proposed restructuring law is the best way to pull the island out of a nearly decade-long recession. The court will decide whether or not the previous ruling that the 2014 Recovery Act conflicts with U.S. federal bankruptcy law will stand.

Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla is calling for a compromise from creditors due to the island’s “unpayable” debts.  However, Puerto Rico’s creditors argue that the bankruptcy mechanism is unfair and would impose deep repayment cuts.

U.S. statutes that allow states to put cities, towns and agencies into bankruptcy, do not apply to Puerto Rico because it is a U.S. territory, not a state. The goal of the Recovery Act of 2014 was to seek similar authority to put Puerto Rico into bankruptcy agencies.

Mutual funds giants such as Franklin Advisors and OppenheimerFunds were first to challenge the law, saying that the Act contradicted the U.S. bankruptcy code even though the code excludes Puerto Rico.

A U.S. federal court in Puerto Rico nixed the law in February and an appeals court affirmed the decision in July.

The court will hear arguments in the spring and rule by the end of June. If the decision is reversed, the territory could place companies into bankruptcy agencies such as, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), and the Puerto Rico Highways & Transportation Authority (PRHTA). Together the two companies hold more than $12 billion in debt.

Click here to read more on this story.

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.