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

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A New York Times article about personal bankruptcy written today by the Associated Press caught my attention. The following is a direct excerpt from the article.

“With unemployment expected to persist above 10 percent through 2010, more Americans whose debt has ballooned may wonder whether they should seek protection from their creditors.

“Last year was the seventh-worst on record for personal bankruptcy: 1.4 million new cases were filed nationwide. Richard Chang, a bankruptcy lawyer in San Diego, said his current cases often result from the recession-from a client losing a job or having work hours cut or from a mortgage rate resetting higher than a client can afford, or a combination.

“Deciding whether to take the plunge is the result of art more than science or accounting norms. Many financial advisers recommend considering filing for bankruptcy if you can’t figure out a way to pay off your unsecured debt within five years.”

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.

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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.

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On September 23, 2009 the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit heard the case of DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Americas, LLC, v. David Douglas Jones; Kirsten M. Jones ; the judgment was decided on January 11, 2010. The case involved David Jones who had filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2006 while still owing on a loan to Daimler Chrysler for his vehicle. Since Mr. Jones had not signed a reaffirmation agreement in regard to his vehicle, but instead submitted a statement of intention to continue payments, Daimler Chrysler obtained an order lifting the bankruptcy stay based upon the vehicle installment contract’s bankruptcy clause. The clause made it clear that the loan would automatically be in default upon the filing of a bankruptcy. Not too long after obtaining the order to lift the stay, Daimler Chrysler repossessed the vehicle. They did so despite having accepted an additional payment from David Jones after Chapter 7 bankruptcy had been filed. This caused Mr. Jones to sue Daimler Chrysler in bankruptcy court on the grounds that West Virginia law required official notice be given to him prior to repossession, and also claiming that formal reaffirmation agreements were not required under the 2005 Bankruptcy Reform Act.

The U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, reversed the lower courts, which had sided with Mr. Jones. The appeals court held that the option to retain the vehicle and make payments was not permitted under the 2005 Bankruptcy Reform Act, except by consent of the lender.  In as much as there had been no reaffirmation agreement filed, Daimler Chrysler was free to repossess the vehicle any time after forty-five days from the section 341(a) meeting of creditors. The appeals court also rejected Mr. Jones’ claim that Daimler Chrysler had accepted his intention to “retain and pay” by receiving his single electronic payment; this was found to be ambiguous and the court refused to find that Daimler Chrysler’s action was evidence of its acceptance of “retain and pay.”

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.

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