new jersey bankruptcy attorney

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts recently released data regarding bankruptcy filings in the United States for the 2010 calendar year. Total bankruptcy filings in the U.S. are at a five year high.

U.S. bankruptcies increased about eight percent in 2010 compared to 2009, which is the fifth straight year filings have increased. Combined, personal and business bankruptcies increased to about 1.59 million, compared to about 1.47 million in 2009. However, the rate was the slowest since 2005, when there were about two million bankruptcy filings. In 2005, the bulk of the bankruptcies, were due to filing before the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) revisions, were effective.

Personal bankruptcy filings rose about nine percent in 2010, totaling about 1.41 million, while the unemployment rate also remained above nine percent. Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings, which involves the liquidation of assets, increased about eight percent in 2010, totaling approximately 1.13 million, as compared to 2009 when 1.05 Chapter 7 filings were reported. Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings rose eight percent to 438,913 in 2010, compared to 406,962 filings in 2009.

In New Jersey, there were 41,365 total filings for personal bankruptcy, which is a 14.2 percent increase from 2009, when there were 36,233 personal bankruptcy filings.

However, business bankruptcy filings in the U.S. declined approximately 7.5 percent, which the article states may be due to financing becoming easier for businesses to obtain. Chapter 11 filings, which permit the reorganization of business activities, declined to 13,713, compared to 15,189 in 2009.

With tough times facing our nation, including the economy, unemployment, and the foreclosure crisis, many Americans are finding it difficult to manage their finances, and may be facing bankruptcy. Deciding to file for personal bankruptcy is a difficult decision, and one that should be reached after a great deal of consideration. Consulting with a New Jersey bankruptcy lawyer can help you understand the bankruptcy process and can advise you on the best course of action regarding your specific financial situation. Call The Law Offices of Robert Manchel today at 866-503-5655 to learn how Mr. Manchel can help you.

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According to a recent article in USA Today, the number of retired people that are filing for bankruptcy has significantly increased, and the rate was increasing even before the recession began.

According to a study conducted by the University of Michigan Law School, people aged 65-years-old and older are the fastest-growing part of the population that are filing for bankruptcy protection. The study also discovered that elderly Americans carry approximately 50 percent more credit card debt than younger Americans.

There are many facets to the problem. Once retired, a person’s expenses, such as medical bills and taxes, continue to rise, while their income declines. If long-term care is needed, it also significantly adds to expenses. Additionally, Social Security has not had an adjustment for cost-of-living inflation in a long time. Many senior citizens also suffered losses in their retirement and pension accounts during the height of the recession. Many more people are retiring while carrying a mortgage than previous generations, which also adds to costs. Often, these circumstances lead the elderly to attempt to live off their credit cards, only making matters worse.

Bankruptcy can be the best option for some retirees and may help stop the depletion on their limited income from creditors. Many elderly Americans mistakenly believe that filing for bankruptcy will drain their retirement accounts and leave them penniless. The reality is that retirement and Social Security accounts (up to roughly $1 million) are exempt from creditors, so retirees will continue to have a steady source of income after filing for bankruptcy. Also, medical bills and credit card debt are categorized as “unsecured debt”, which will likely be eliminated by bankruptcy.

If you have recently retired and find yourself struggling to pay your bills, filing for bankruptcy may be a good option for you. However, every person’s financial circumstances are different, and that is why it is wise to consult with a New Jersey bankruptcy lawyer who can help you determine the best course of action. At The Law Offices of Robert Manchel, our attorneys have helped many people in New Jersey understand and go through the bankruptcy process. Call our law office today at 866-503-5655 to learn how we can help you.

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With America’s culture of consumerism, it should come as no surprise to find that Americans are heavily loaded with debt from credit cards. The average household in America that possesses at least one credit card has an average of over $10,000 in debt from credit cards.

CNN Money has a list of top things Americans need to know about handling their finances. First, they acknowledge that some debt can actually be good—such as borrowing money to pay for college or a home, but that you should be cautious not to borrow more money than you can pay back. They also advise shopping around to find the best interest rates. However, there is bad debt, such as using a credit card to purchase things like vacations that can’t be paid off in full within a few months. Using a credit card for expensive items that can’t be paid off timely is a fast way to find yourself in serious debt. They recommend putting cash aside each month to save for a big ticket item before charging your credit card, so you can pay the full amount when it is due and avoid paying high interest charges.

The article also urges Americans to think about what it is they’re purchasing. They suggest making a list of your typical monthly spending habits and then cut out the items you don’t really need. Save the money you would have spent or use it to try to reduce your debt faster.

When paying off your debts, first pay off the highest- interest rated debts, which CNN Money says is the solution to efficiently getting out of debt. Pay the balances of credit cards or loans that charge the highest interest, while you pay the minimum balance due on other debts. Once the high interest debts are paid off, pay off the next highest, and so forth. Soon you will find your debts greatly reduced.

Managing your money wisely can help you avoid filing for bankruptcy in New Jersey. However, in some cases, it may be in your best interest to file for New Jersey bankruptcy. Everyone’s situation is different, and it may be a good decision to speak with a New Jersey bankruptcy lawyer to find out your legal rights and options. The attorneys from the Law Offices of Robert Manchel have worked with many individuals, regarding their decision as to whether bankruptcy is the best solution. We can help guide you through the bankruptcy process and answer any questions you may have. If you are considering filing for bankruptcy in New Jersey, please contact our office to speak with one of our skilled and knowledgeable bankruptcy attorneys today. Call us at 866-503-5655.

Check our blog later this week for part II on how you can handle your money more wisely and potentially avoid filing for bankruptcy in New Jersey.

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Often times when filing for bankruptcy, New Jersey residents do not realize that there are different types of debt, and that the bankruptcy court treats them as such. Two different types of debt recognized by the New Jersey bankruptcy court includes secured debt and priority debt. Secured debt in New Jersey often takes the form of a house mortgage or an automobile financing loan, while priority debt refers to those financial obligations that cannot be eliminated by bankruptcy, namely child support payments, spousal support, and some types of taxes.

Secured debt is a lien against property, such as a car or a house. In taking out financing against such property, the debtor is granting the lender an interest in their personal or real property, with that interest eventually expiring once the loan is satisfied. In a chapter 7 bankruptcy, secured debt is discharged only in the sense that the creditor cannot sue a debtor for the amount owed. Typically, however, the creditor can still foreclose on or repossess the debtor’s property in order to satisfy the debt, if the debtor is in default of the loan agreement. In chapter 13 bankruptcy proceedings, a debtor can save their property if their payments are in default to a secured creditor, by paying the total secured debt arrears to the creditor through a monthly trustee payment, while making the future regular monthly payments, directly to the creditor.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, priority debt is, for the most part, entirely unaffected by a chapter 7 filing. This means that the debt continues to be due to the creditor and the creditor may pursue the debtor for the debt, after the bankruptcy case is completed. In a chapter 13 plan, the debtor must pay the priority debt to the creditor through a monthly trustee payment. After the completion of the chapter 13, the priority debt should be satisfied and paid in full.

The experienced bankruptcy attorneys at the Law Offices of Robert Manchel have assisted many individuals, throughout the state of New Jersey, with their bankruptcy filings. We understand that bankruptcy proceedings can be complicated. For more information about bankruptcy, regardless of your situation, please call our skilled NJ bankruptcy lawyers today at 1-866-503-5655.

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In the forth post of our 10 Reasons to Hire a New Jersey Bankruptcy Attorney blog series, we will discuss how to avoid common mistakes when filing for bankruptcy in New Jersey.

If your finances are a mess and you are faced with foreclosure, you may be hesitant to retain a New Jersey Bankruptcy attorney to help you strategize and assess your options simply out of reluctance to take on yet another financial obligation. While it’s generally prudent to avoid taking on obligations when you’re in debt, it can be a significant mistake to fail to consult, in a timely manner, with a NJ Bankruptcy lawyer. Here’s why:

1. You may make unrealistic promises to creditors – As the adage goes, “Pride cometh before the fall.” If you have spent your life working hard, saving, and generally being financially prudent, you may avoid filing for bankruptcy NJ out of fear that doing so might represent a lowering of your standards. Unfortunately, when you attempt to negotiate directly with creditors, you can get yourself in hot water. By making unrealistic promises or by behaving unnecessarily antagonistically towards creditors, you can complicate your relationships with them, legal and otherwise.
2. You could file for the wrong bankruptcy – New Jersey bankruptcy law allows petitioners to file for various kinds of relief, including chapter 7, chapter 11, and chapter 13. In addition, some individuals may qualify for reorganization that falls short of bankruptcy – such as credit counseling. The differences among these various kinds of relief can be subtle. You can’t make a keen assessment about what kind of relief is best just by reading about your options on the internet. Only a battle-tested, veteran New Jersey bankruptcy lawyer can really help you make the best choice – and he or she can do so only after deeply investigating the state of your assets, debts, financials, hopes, and anxieties. If you file for the wrong kind of bankruptcy, you could potentially lose major assets that you could otherwise protect – such as a car or house.
3. Overworking to make up the difference – As another old adage goes, “If you are in a hole, stop digging.” Often, individuals who are in debt may take on second or even third jobs to try to pay the bills and keep everything in balance. This may be a plausible strategy for the short term, but working yourself to the bone is almost never a successful strategy for the long term. Unless and until you work with an attorney who can help you understand your legal options and plan for a reasonable future, you may find yourself running hard on the treadmill and getting nowhere.
4. Risk of winding up with bad counsel – If you’re desperate to deal with your debt or to save your home, you might be surprised at how many different organizations and individuals will show up to “help you” get out of debt and reorganize your finances. While some of these individuals and institutions no doubt provide good services, bad advisors abound. If you rely on unethical, naïve, or incompetent advisors, you could wind up in much more complicated and frustrating financial straits.
5. Could accidentally perpetrate fraud – Here is a final adage to consider: “desperate times call for desperate measures.” This adage, perhaps, is rather inappropriate. In fact, when you are under serious financial pressures, taking desperate action can often lead to trouble. If you fail to disclose all of your assets on a bankruptcy filing form, for instance, or if you intentionally downplay your debts in the hopes that the court “won’t notice,” you could be severely penalized. In fact, under certain situations, you can even be arrested for white collar crime.

To avoid making completely unnecessary mistakes, consider retaining the services of a confident, experienced, and highly reputable New Jersey bankruptcy attorney, such as Robert Manchel. Call the Law Offices of Robert Manchel now at 866-503-5655 for good, reliable, and compassionate assistance with your financial problems. Unlike other attorneys who practice bankruptcy NJ law, Mr. Manchel focuses exclusively on bankruptcy and foreclosure resolution, and he holds accreditation from the American Bar Association and the American Board of Certification.

To find out how you can make the most out of your New Jersey bankruptcy options, please read our next post.

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In the second post of our 10 Reasons to Hire a New Jersey Bankruptcy Attorney series, we will discuss how retaining an experienced NJ bankruptcy lawyer can help in creating a buffer between you and other parties.

• Creditors, trustees, agents of the US trustee office, agents of the court and so forth will all crave some contact with you as you proceed through your bankruptcy filing. Without a veteran New Jersey bankruptcy attorney in your corner to finesse requests for information, hold off creditors, and interface with trustees and other agents, you could experience severe unwanted stresses.
• A solid NJ bankruptcy lawyer can force creditors to play fair. According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, creditors cannot harass debtors inappropriately – and once you retain a lawyer, creditors must go through him or her.
• A lawyer can also attend meetings on your behalf, act as your liaison to the court, and provide trustworthy moment-to-moment guidance to help you prioritize how to spend your time, money, and energy to get out of debt.
• The bankruptcy NJ process can get complicated, even during seemingly simple filings. If you make inappropriate or inaccurate comments to the court, promises to creditors, or statements on your paperwork, these mistakes could compromise your options significantly. A good attorney can “protect you from yourself” by vetting your statements and by advising you about what not to do and who not to hire to help you reorganize your finances and reestablish your credit.

If you need help dealing with trustees, agents of the court, annoying creditors, or other individuals or institutions, contact the Law Offices of Robert Manchel, toll free, today at 1-866-503-5655. Attorney Manchel is a certified consumer law bankruptcy attorney, and his practice is limited to foreclosure resolution and bankruptcy. Mr. Manchel has a reputation for strong ethics, accessibility to clients, reasonable fees, and deep expertise in NJ bankruptcy law.

To learn how to get the most out of the effectiveness of your New Jersey bankruptcy filing, please refer to our next post.

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For anyone who is facing the challenge of debt, potential foreclosure, or other matters relating to bankruptcy in New Jersey, there are many issues of concern that need to be addressed. In considering how to go about resolving your bankruptcy or foreclosure, you may also want to take into account the potential benefits a New Jersey bankruptcy attorney can offer.

In a Ten Part Blog Series, we will be discussing several issues to help you through your bankruptcy as well as providing ten reasons to hire a New Jersey bankruptcy attorney. These reasons, and blog series titles, are as follows:

1. Protect Yourself from Uncertainty and Unknowns
2. Create a Buffer between You and Other Parties
3. Maximize Efficiency
4. Avoid Mistakes
5. Take Best Advantage of Your Bankruptcy Options
6. Experience and Knowledge Equals Power
7. Failing to Hire a New Jersey Bankruptcy Attorney Can Lead To Problems
8. Complications Inevitably Arise
9. Minimal Upfront Investment Required
10. Guidance to Choose the Right Bankruptcy to File

Please refer to our next blog post, “Protect Yourself from Uncertainty and Unknowns”, for the beginning of our series on 10 Reasons to Hire a New Jersey Bankruptcy Attorney.

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