Society & Culture in the US

This afternoon on lunch break the topic of bancarrota came up. A lot of people had different ideas as to what bankruptcy means to their financial dealings. Today, many people are suffering under mountains of debt. Many of these people are using the protection of bancarrota to help provide relief. There are many reasons that could lead up to bankruptcy. Some of the debts have been due to victims of divorce, job loss, identity theft, large medical bills or disability. Sometimes it is a combination of unfortunate events that contribute to this situation. Putting the blame on yourself doesn’t help resolve your financial dilemma. There are companies out there that know all the rules and regulations with regard to bankruptcy and can help you find the right course to follow to get your situation resolved. The people in my office all agreed that getting legal advice would be the best way to go. Trying to work something out by yourself is very time consuming and if you don’t know all the codes involved you get further into debt and cause yourself more headaches. Talking to individuals who handle bankruptcy every day would be a good start in finding a solution.

My grandmother is a hoarder. She keeps very nearly every thing that comes across her path. We have resorted to house cleaning for her when she is not looking. We found an old booklet in one of her cabinets where she had written her new year’s resolution not to fall into moral bankruptcy by throwing away what she worked so hard for. When we convinced her that she needed to shop for new dishware recently, we volunteered to put it away for her. We then replaced the new stuff in the box with old stuff from the kitchen cabinets, which is where we found that booklet. The old booklet was yellowed with age and had written across the front cover in a pretty cursive handwriting: January the First, Nineteen Hundred and Thirty-Nine. It seems that Grandma grew up in the Great Depression in an already eccentric family of 15, in which she was the youngest. When things started to turn around for her family, she decided that she would do all in her power to never again be hungry or go without the basic necessities in life. And, to do this she felt she needed a yearly reminder. She still writes that phrase each year.

When I saw the look on my mom’s face I thought for sure that she was going to disown me. I knew that she would be upset because she had co-signed on a relatively large loan for me so I could get a decent interest rate. My credit rating wasn’t the greatest and I needed someone to step in and help me, which she did. Now that I filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, she thought I would be dragging her credit down the toilet right along with mine. I explained to her that chapter 13 had a provision in place to protect co-debtors, so she wouldn’t have to worry about the creditors coming after her for the money that I owed. I also explained to her that it certainly wasn’t my intention to have my business fail and not be able to pay my bills. It was just a very unfortunate situation, but I was going to do everything in my power to fix it and that I would do my best to protect her. Hopefully after a few months go by, and she sees that no one is going to harass her and that I’m doing my very best to make all this right, she’ll be able to trust me again.

I have a close friend who got so deep into debt while at college that she had to
file for personal bankruptcy before she even graduated. It was very hard for me to see and extremely difficult for her to go through. Her parents would no longer help her pay for college so she was pretty much on her own. She actually was not able to go back to school because she was unable to pay her outstanding balance at the last university she attended and have her transcripts released to her. I always think about her and wonder how she’s doing as far as getting a job. She never was able to return to school. It’s been about 8 or 9 years since she had to do this and I know she’s doing well, but when we talk she always talks to me about her desire to finally pay off her debt to the community college and register for classes again. She was a good student, so I’m doubly saddened by the fact that her financial problems kept her from getting her college degree. I have no doubt in my mind that she will eventually find a way to get out of this rut. But it took her almost a decade to repair the damage caused by her inability to get her transcripts.

I think it’s finally gotten to the point where I need professional help, I owe - let’s just say a lot, maybe in the neighborhood of sixty or seventy thousand dollars on credit cards. The pressure of the monthly payments is killing me: I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, and I feel like I’m in a situation where filing for personal bankruptcy is eminent. It’s gotten so bad that I’m actually using one credit card to pay another credit card bill, before long my debt will have to be calculated by NASA. I’ve thought of turning to a credit counseling bureau, but how do I know which ones are credible? I’ve heard horror stories of people being ripped of by organizations that advertised about being there to help. I’m not crazy about the idea of ruining my credit rating for the foreseeable future, but I don’t know what else to do. Maybe a meeting with a lawyer will give me a better idea of where I stand, maybe I’m not in quite as deep as I think I am and a qualified lawyer will tell me how to go about this without having to file and without losing my shirt. The only problem with that plan is finding a lawyer I think I can trust.

Last night I had the craziest blind date! My friend set us up but she didn’t tell me whom I would be dating. Who the heck dates a man who is going through bankruptcy? And what kind of a friend would set something up like that? Let me explain everything in detail and in order. So I walk into the Grill n’ Bistro on Saturday night, all dressed up and in my heels with makeup and everything. I looked gorgeous, if I don’t say so myself. My hair is curly and I even made the effort to straighten it. So I was sitting at our reserved table and what do you know—there was a man in tattered clothes coming over to me. I was scared! So I obviously acted in self-defense when he smiled a toothy grin, telling me that I look hot. “Whoa,” I told him, “back off me and if you come even an inch near me I will call the cops!” that message went clearly to his head, but I say this in the wrong way. He didn’t take this as a hint to get away, but rather he just plopped down next to me and hysterically started crying. Was he even normal? He then rambled on and on and I only caught onto a few words that he was saying. Something about being bankrupt and no money and no one loves him anymore. He definitely got that right. I then said to him in a loud and clear voice, “there is no possible way that you will ever lead a normal life if you don’t get a grip on yourself! Come down buddy and look at the world around you—life will go on! Just stop feeling sorry for yourself and make an effort to live your life and stop letting your life live you.” I was kind of harsh on that poor man, but I really do hope that my message had gotten across; he really was overly exaggerating!

Chapter 7 is not an option for us. We do this and we will be ruined, and will never be able to get out from under it. How we got here is a discussion for another time. We have seen a few lawyers and have been unable to find one yet who will work with us to stay out of this type of filing. If we go this way we could lose just about everything we have worked for for the past thirty years. It could even wipe out the equity we have built up in the house. Debbie has an appointment with another lawyer, a friend of her sister. We drove across town to get to her office, and waited probably another hour. We saw her and explained out situation, and she thought she might have a plan for us. We listened to what she said and agreed to sign an agreement with her. She had asked if we had any other lawyers engaged and we didn't. We had just let the previous one go. So we were in the clear to start with her. She outlined a plan of action, and it looked much better than the other lawyers' plans. We wanted to get started as soon as possible.

After bankruptcy, it was hard for me to convince my husband that he wasn't a complete failure. It can be a big blow to your ego to put your all into a business and have it fail. It was especially difficult for my husband, because he's got a very traditional mentality when it comes to providing for his family. The way he sees it, he's the man of the house and that’s that. If he should for some reason lose the ability to bring home the bacon, well that's just it for him. I couldn't stand to see him so depressed. I kind of resented the fact that he was so embarrassed that his wife was suddenly the breadwinner of our household. God forbid a woman should be out of the kitchen! I'm exaggerating of course; he's not nearly that much of a chauvinist but his attitude did irk me quite a bit. Luckily, he soon got out of his slump. Him and his business partner used their spare time to scheme and brainstorm, trying to concoct some brilliant idea that would make us all rich beyond our wildest dreams. All this plotting gave his spirit a much-needed boost, and soon enough they were able to get a new business off the ground. Everything is thankfully, back to normal.