New Bern Bankruptcy And Debt Relief Blog

If you are a North Carolina senior facing overwhelming debt, you are not alone. Far too many of today’s seniors face the real possibility of bankruptcy as their only way out. In fact, “gray bankruptcy” statistics have become alarming in recent years. While only 2.1 percent of bankruptcies in 1991 represented those filed by seniors, today the percentage has skyrocketed to 12.2 percent.

Unfortunately, many factors have come together to form a perfect financial storm for seniors such as you. These factors include the following:

• You must wait longer to collect Social Security benefits.
• You must pay far higher medical costs.
• You must contend with ever-increasing Medicare coverage gaps.
• You likely must contend with ever-increasing debt amounts, particularly with regard to your credit cards.
• You likely have not been able to accumulate much savings.

Unemployment is a difficult experience. Whether you go through a job loss because of a layoff or termination, you may deal with financial and emotional stresses. Losing your job may even lead to bankruptcy. 

You must carefully manage your budget if you lose your job. Here are some guidelines for maintaining your budget when you are unemployed: 

As long as you had a steady job, you were able to cover all your debts and credit card payments without any trouble. You may have even been debt free and able to put a little bit of money away in savings. Then, suddenly, with the loss of your job, you began to struggle to meet the most basic monthly expenses.

It is a common scenario - families and individuals who were once financially secure falling quickly into debt due to the loss of a job. If you are in this situation, you are not alone. Losing a job can cause major debt in a very short amount of time, leaving you struggling to make your monthly payments.

If you are drowning in medical bills, facing overwhelming credit card debt or otherwise struggling to keep yourself afloat financially, you may be wondering whether bankruptcy might be an effective method of getting back on your feet. You may also have heard that different types of bankruptcies exist, among them Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings, but you may not be clear on the difference or whether one option might make more sense for you.

The majority of today’s personal bankruptcy filings are of the Chapter 7 variety, which essentially allows you to eliminate most of your debts, with some restrictions. However, whether you have the option of pursuing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy depends on how you perform on the bankruptcy means test.