The last few years had an epidemic boost in bank-ruptcy filings countrywide. The pace has slowed substantially. However, a large number of individuals cannot even pay for the cost of declaring bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy no longer as often
From 2007 to 2008, bankruptcy filings in-creased 33 percent, and it increased 32 percent from 2008 to 2009, according to Deseret News. Lots of people ended up declaring personal bankruptcy between 2006 and 2008 because unemployment went up and the financial industry melted.
The increasing rate slowed quite a bit from 2009 to 2010 with only an 8 percent increase. There were 1.55 million filings for Chapter 11 and 7 bankruptcies during that year. In 2011, there were only 1.4 million filings, a 12 percent decrease, according to the New York Times.
The declining number of bankruptcies is encouraging. However, the counterpart to the data is, accord-ing to CNN, which more people would file for bankruptcy if they could pay for it.
Not worth the cash
The typical cost for filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy is $1,500, which means about 200,000 to 1 million peo-ple throughout the nation cannot pay for to really file for it, ac-cording to the National Agency of Economic Research. It is believed that many peo-ple use their tax returns to file bankruptcy.
The $1,500 will mostly go to the attorney. The fee from the lawyer will add up to around $1,000 after considering the mandatory $300 federal court fee for filing. It also contains that many people will have to pay an average of $85 to cover debtor's education courses and pre-bankruptcy counseling. This is required for anybody who is filing for bankruptcy.
A less costly way
Part of the expense involved is incurred by additional hoops to jump through and paperwork mandat-ed by the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, which has made declaring bankruptcy more difficult to do. Inexorably, that involves more legal work and thus more in legal charges. The law was passed in order to reduce un-necessary or frivolous filings, but critics have contended the law puts bankruptcy further out of reach for the poor.
However, some attorneys are willing to work pro bono, or without being paid. There are pro bono associations through which one can find an attorney who may be willing to take a case. Some judges will even waive filing fees if a person's income is 150 per-cent or less of the federal poverty level.
Bankruptcy no longer as often
From 2007 to 2008, bankruptcy filings in-creased 33 percent, and it increased 32 percent from 2008 to 2009, according to Deseret News. Lots of people ended up declaring personal bankruptcy between 2006 and 2008 because unemployment went up and the financial industry melted.
The increasing rate slowed quite a bit from 2009 to 2010 with only an 8 percent increase. There were 1.55 million filings for Chapter 11 and 7 bankruptcies during that year. In 2011, there were only 1.4 million filings, a 12 percent decrease, according to the New York Times.
The declining number of bankruptcies is encouraging. However, the counterpart to the data is, accord-ing to CNN, which more people would file for bankruptcy if they could pay for it.
Not worth the cash
The typical cost for filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy is $1,500, which means about 200,000 to 1 million peo-ple throughout the nation cannot pay for to really file for it, ac-cording to the National Agency of Economic Research. It is believed that many peo-ple use their tax returns to file bankruptcy.
The $1,500 will mostly go to the attorney. The fee from the lawyer will add up to around $1,000 after considering the mandatory $300 federal court fee for filing. It also contains that many people will have to pay an average of $85 to cover debtor's education courses and pre-bankruptcy counseling. This is required for anybody who is filing for bankruptcy.
A less costly way
Part of the expense involved is incurred by additional hoops to jump through and paperwork mandat-ed by the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, which has made declaring bankruptcy more difficult to do. Inexorably, that involves more legal work and thus more in legal charges. The law was passed in order to reduce un-necessary or frivolous filings, but critics have contended the law puts bankruptcy further out of reach for the poor.
However, some attorneys are willing to work pro bono, or without being paid. There are pro bono associations through which one can find an attorney who may be willing to take a case. Some judges will even waive filing fees if a person's income is 150 per-cent or less of the federal poverty level.
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