Troy McMullen of ABC news wrote an interesting article on the rise of Chapter 7 bankruptcies. In order to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy an individual is required to have a regular income. Due to the increase in long-term unemployment many people filing for bankruptcy do not meet that standard and therefore file under Chapter 7.

The article mentions an account executive at a public relations firm in Orlando who was earning a six-figure salary. His name is Gerard Young. I think stories of successful people who find themselves needing to file bankruptcy are important for anyone considering bankruptcy to hear. A little over a year ago, in the midst of the recession, Young lost his job and found himself accumulating more and more debt. When creditors began to close in on his home and car, Young filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy so that he could liquidate his assets and pay off some debts. “You never really think it could happen to you,” Young, who is 46 years old, says. “One day you’re out shopping for a house and enjoying your life and then the next thing you know you’re broke.”

“For the first time in many, many years, you are seeing more educated people with high incomes turning to bankruptcy,” a bankruptcy attorney in Texas, Jeremy Richards, says. “These were folks who have lost high-paying jobs and now find themselves in financial trouble.”

If you live in Denver, Aurora, Arvada, Brighton, Broomfield, Commerce City, Englewood, Golden, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood, Lafayette, Littleton, Northglenn, Westminster, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, please feel free to contact me with any questions.   Kevin D. Heupel, Colorado Bankruptcy attorney, 303-955-7570, COBankruptcyHelpEmail, free-consultation form.