According to an article in the Dallas Morning News, the most recent U.S. Census Bureau figures states that Texas leads the nation in the percentage of residents without health insurance.  More than 1 out of every 4 Texans are without health insurance, a total of 6 million residents and Texas leads the nation in the numbers of children who go without health insurance.

The article said:

“…Texas had the …

Comment by Jacob Decker: … expenses is one of the most substantial reasons many file …

Tags: Bankruptcy Health Uninsured in the United States

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Times are tough on everyone right now.  You are a good person in a bad situation, and you probably feel alone and worried about your near-desperate circumstances.  However, if you have been considering working through a “credit counselor”, explore working through an attorney instead.

You hire the attorney to work on YOUR BEHALF.  And you can be sure the attorney will work within the law.

Bankruptcy is a federal law written specifically to …

Tags: Bankruptcy Better Business Bureau Business Credit history Credit score Federal Trade Commission Law United States

In the bankruptcy case of Walker, Sedrick T.; In re, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy debtor’s case is dismissed with prejudice after the bankruptcy court determined that the debtor was attempting to abuse the system.

The details of the bankruptcy case:

The bankruptcy debtor has filed bankruptcy six times since 1994 and was filing his most recent case pro se.  The bankruptcy court noted that the …

Tags: Bankruptcy Law Pro se legal representation in the United States

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Most people have at least passing knowledge of wage garnishment–the process of deducting money from an employee’s monetary compensation (including salary) as a result of a court order.  Fortunately for those who find themselves in the unfortunate position of having their wages garnished, these payments are limited by federal law to 25 percent of the employee’s disposable income.  Unfortunately, those payments will continue until the entire debt has been …

Tags: Bankruptcy Chapter 13 Title 11 United States Code Garnishment Internal Revenue Service tax

President Obama just sent his legislative package to Congress to create the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency.  The new agency’s purpose will be to protect consumers from deceptive or confusing practices by financial institutions.  Chances are, however, that many consumers who are currently struggling with financial stress are not likely to see the immediate effects of this program.  In the mean time, some bankruptcy courts are looking for alternatives to …

Tags: bankruptcy law Lawyers and Law Firms United States United States bankruptcy court United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

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According to an article in the Star-Telegram, over two-thirds of Americans surveyed by the American Bar Association said they would support increased federal funding for poor people needing legal assistance. Currently there is legislation making its way through Congress to increase legal aid funding for the poor.

The article said: Legislation introduced in March by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, would nearly double the …

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The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of new jobless claims rose to 480,000 last week when many economists were hoping for a decline and a sign that the job losses would be improving soon.

But the rise in weekly claims of 7,000 last week, which had followed an increase of 19,000 the previous week, shows that the improvement has been halting. Analysts believe that claims need to …

Tags: Economy Job Loss Unemployment United States

The Labor Department claims that the number jobless workers applying for unemployment for the first time is steadily decreasing; but could that mean a spike in bankruptcy filings?

Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 474,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That was above analysts’ expectations of 460,000 new claims… The number of people …

Tags: Bankruptcy Labor Department Recession Unemployment United States

… we highlighted a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case where student loan debt was partially discharged. The bankruptcy discharge was challenged by the creditor and has made its way to the Supreme Court.  Here is an overview of the decision made by lower courts last year:

In the case of ( Espinosa v. United Student Aid Funds Inc., No. 06-16421, 9th Cir. 10/02/08) the court stated:

“Our long-standing circuit law holds that student loan debts can be discharged by way of a Chapter 13 plan …

Tags: Bankruptcy Supreme Court of the United States

Charter Communications Inc. has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy with only $13 billion in debt. Charter filed bankruptcy in March with $21.7 billion of debt.  Their bankruptcy plan has wiped out $8 billion of debt and reduced their interest costs to $830 million a year.

Bondholders who exchanged $8 billion of debt end up owning substantially all of the newly reorganized company. Allen’s majority stake will be reduced to 2 percent. But he will have 35 percent control of all …

Tags: Chapter 11 Title 11 United States Code Charter Communications

According to an article in the Star-Telegram, FairPoint Communications filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday after agreeing to a debt reduction deal with its creditors that will lower its debt by 62 percent.  FairPoint, owns and operates phone companies in 18 states with a total of 1.65 million lines. The company has been struggling to repay its large debt load while its revenues have continued to fall.  …

Tags: Chapter 11 Title 11 United States Code FairPoint Communications

According to an article in the Dallas Morning News, the Labor Department announced that new claims for unemployment insurance benefits dropped last week to a seasonally adjusted 521,000.

The article said:

“Despite the improvement, initial claims remain well above the 325,000 that economists say is consistent with a healthy economy.”

Also, there are still 8.9 million Americans continuing to receive …

Tags: Unemployment United States Department of Labor

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