Compassionate Bankruptcy

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Christine Wilton

I believe that filing bankruptcy is a compassionate act.  I alleviate the suffering of my clients by assisting them to obtain relief from their debts through bankruptcy.  My clients are good people with severe financial hardship, who seek to transform their financial distress into financial freedom.

In case you haven't heard, bankruptcy has a history as old as religion itself.  The Bible itself even allows for forgiveness of debts, as Matthew B. Tozer and Ben E. Lofstedt wrote so eloquently.  Jill Lepore wrote, Annals of Finance, “I.O.U.,” in The New Yorker, which chronicles how we used to treat debtors in America.  My favorite sentence in that article reads, " . . .most people who fall into debt are victims of the business cycle, and not of fate or divine retribution."  Keep that in mind as you consider that it's okay for the likes of Chrysler, GM, and celebrities to file for bankruptcy, but not you.

I have the hardest time, standing by, watching the incredible suffering of humanity over debt.  Remember when the airline attendant says that in case of emergency you put the oxygen mask on yourself first?  The same applies to your finances.  Loving one's self starts with you.    When you put yourself and your family first, you can transcend the suffering and make your own choices in life, moment to moment. 

Law Professor Brent T. White recently wrote a paper entitled, "Underwater and Not Walking Away:  Shame, Fear and the Social Management of the Housing Crisis."  The media plays a huge role in supporting the "moral responsibility' to pay one's mortgage.  Read his paper and decide for yourself. What will you do in 2010 to put your self and your family first?

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Bankruptcy is Financial Responsibility

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Christine Wilton

Let's face it; the economic recession is dragging on and there are no signs of improvement.  The government spending is the only spending that is propping up our economy.  So, when you hear in the news that spending is up, it's your federal government doing the spending with bailout money, and building projects for green technology; that's it.  We consumers are not so fortunate and I'm am proud to be counted with the majority who are paying down our debts, but why?  Why do we continue to be the slaves to our creditors who are increasing interest rates and charging extortion penalties when we're a day late?

Jay Jump, a Washington based consumer bankruptcy attorney addressed this very question in his recent blog post where he discusses, to a group of Realtors, that filing bankruptcy is personal financial responsibility.  His article is pretty lengthy and he admits that at the outset, but he's right on point.  We need to set our emotional high morality aside and look at our own households as small corporations and our families as our shareholders.  When you look at your financial affairs from the perspective of a business owner and who you owe a duty to; your family becomes the priority and your creditors take a back seat.  When you put your priorities in order, filing for bankruptcy makes sense in many cases.

Being financially responsible means cutting your losses before you lose everything.  It means leaving your retirement money where it belongs; for retirement.  When you are financially responsible and know that the numbers don't add up where you can feed your family and pay your debts, then the debts must be discharged in bankruptcy. 

You can transform your financial distress into financial freedom from the moment you sit down with your bankruptcy lawyer.  The stress is further reduced the moment the bankruptcy case is filed on your behalf.  Then, when your discharge notice arrives from the Court, you have done the very best you can and protected your small corporation, Your Family, from financial disaster and made a difference.  Read what Mr. Jump has to say and decide for yourself if filing for bankruptcy is responsible financial behavior because I'm in complete agreement with him.

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