Hiring a Bankruptcy Lawyer Can Help Overwhelming Situations

Sometimes circumstances in a person’s life go awry unexpectedly and a bankruptcy lawyer may need to be called in. Most people are surprised to find themselves in this unfortunate situation. There are many catastrophic occurrences which can spiral a responsible person into deep red ink. When debts pile up, the accumulation of interest can make even the minimum payment not enough. Bill collectors may start to call and the person may feel under an overwhelming burden. Examples of situations which may have caused a person or family to spiral into red ink include:

- Job loss: Unemployment can create a dire financial situation for nearly every individual who loses their job. Layoffs and downsizing of companies have been occurring which entails job losses for many unsuspecting employees. Most individuals are just one paycheck away from losing their house or apartment.

- Mortgage trouble: Many homeowners ended up in houses that they couldn’t really afford. For several years, hybrid loans were being approved without a thorough check by lenders into buyers’ income and ability to pay. Buyers may have planned to just sell at a profit but much to their surprise, home values dropped substantially, leaving them holding the bag of a mortgage payment they simply couldn’t afford. Foreclosures have skyrocketed in recent years.

- Medical bills: Many individuals have no medical insurance to cover illnesses, accidents or catastrophic health problems. Hospital and doctor fees are unbelievably high. Even a relatively simple surgery can land a worker struggling to pay regular household bills in deep trouble. Tens of thousands of dollars can be charged for a hospital bill for something as simple as an appendectomy.

- Divorce: When a couple decides to end their marriage, both husbands and wives often nosedive financially. Supporting one residence on one or two paychecks may have been possible, but each spouse supporting an entire household on one income can spell overdraft. Not only rent or house payments, but utility bills, car payments, phone bills and more. Two people can definitely live together more cheaply in a single house than two individuals supporting two homes.

- Permanent debt: Credit cards have become a way of luring people until they are held captive by the convenient plastic. Buying items may seem easy until all those monthly payments are added up. Because the interest on these cards is accumulating every month, minimum payments mean that the balance never goes down. If a payment is late or missed, the credit card companies can increase the interest rate to 25% of more. This is a hefty price tag to pay for convenience.

- Cost of living rising: The cost of food and utilities is rising while incomes have either dropped or remained stagnant. This means less cash to go around each month and a potential for getting behind in bills. Even gasoline prices have been climbing steadily.

Staying up all night worrying about paying the bills is terrible for health. It can cause families to drift apart and marriages to break up. Contacting a bankruptcy lawyer to find a way to start over may be the smartest thing to do for all concerned.