A new study of bankruptcy information by economists at Brigham Young University suggests something different-- the percentage of personal bankruptcy has surprisingly little to do with the state’s economy.

The bankruptcy information study, released June 2009, examines the 28,000 personal bankruptcies filed between 1999 and 2000. The states with the most ruthless wage garnishment laws, in Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah, had higher bankruptcy information rates than anywhere else in the country. These states’ wage garnishment laws allow creditors to dip into the pocket of struggling debtors, regardless of bankruptcy protection—making them twice as likely to file Chapter 7 a second time and blowing up bankruptcy information indices.

The year 2006 saw our bankruptcy rates diminish by 9.3%, but not because of a booming economy—consumers chafed at new bankruptcy policy. 2006 made Chapter 7 consumer bankruptcy seem inaccessible by mandating a credit counseling pre- bankruptcy filing, when in truth the requirement was negligible. Consumers also cringed anew at a new “means test”, adding bureaucratic paperwork to the Chapter 7 requirement that your income is less than the state’s median—usually under $30,000, and much lower for states (Oklahoma! Utah!) with an abundance of minimum wage and farming jobs. As a result, ineligible consumers must file Chapter 13, 4 times more expensive in legal costs and binding with a payment plan. Most who straddle the line of the state median income can’t weather the cost of Chapter 13 and will have to eventually re-file with Chapter 7—a Chapter 13 misdiagnosis that only briefly delays Chapter 7 only to double the cost for you!

Get in touch with a skilled Legal Helpers attorney with a stern focus on bankruptcy today.

This should not come as a surprise to any thinking person since women, who generally have lower incomes than men often have greater health care needs than men. Women face more unaffordable medical bills then do men and often delay or skip vital health care visits. Most people who filed for “medical bankruptcy” were well-educated, middle-income earners who had health insurance.

In large part, the broken health care system in the United States is behind the devastating fact that just one medical crisis can leave a family in economic disaster. In the upcoming weeks of mid-summer 2009, President Barack Obama will be announcing major changes in health care for the entire country. Hopefully, this new plan will include codicils that ensure that women and families will not go bankrupt when they need medical care. With luck (and foresight) the Obama administration will guarantee that all low and moderate-income families will have adequate medical insurance with minimal out-of-pocket expenses. This will ensure that no family faces devastating financial loss as a result of illness or accident. Overwhelming medical expenses all too often lead to the loss of homes and essential savings.

It is possible than many who file for “medical bankruptcy” do so even with relatively small medical bills. This is, in part, because some hospitals and medical practices refuse to make arrangements for installment payments. They are, increasingly, sending patients to collection over amounts as small as a few hundred dollars.

If you’re plagued by medical debt, chapter 7 bankruptcy may be a viable solution for you. Get in touch with a Legal Helpers attorney and start getting your life back today.

How the U.S. Bankruptcy Information Courts Are Recovering Lost Millions

Since Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme was uncovered in December 2008, unprecedented backlash was thrown at the reckless financier—truly a scoundrel of the first water. Madoff’s case seemed serendipitously timed—right when families in America were filing for personal bankruptcy, foreclosing property and left in the bitter cold during the 2k8 holiday season, they were given the priceless gift of a financial scapegoat. Americans’ seething anger was more poignant when aimed at Madoff’s proven felonious acts, instead of towards thousands of misled sub-prime lenders. He didn’t default on a mortgage, he piddled away $65 billion dollars.

Bankruptcy information trustees have the Sisyphean task of recovering Madoff’s lost mattress money--Numbers within dossiers of bankruptcy information show that his relatives and associates withdrew $735 million only 90 days before the Ponzi scheme was exposed, which in investment fraud legally doesn’t belong to them. Bernie’s family and employees withdrawing such an outrageous sum of money prior to Madoff’s federal charge indicates they were privy to an F.B.I. investigation. By now hiding it in shoeboxes, they’re essentially trying to get away with murder—the very double-book keeping that Madoff was found guilty of.

Most of the financially struggling general public would never dream of throwing away $65 billion. Most of us also haven’t bit off more than we can chew with unrealistic mortgages but have had our investments tangled away from us, much like Madoff’s victims. If they ever do recover the $700 million from Madoff’s friends and families, it will fund the emergency bankruptcy of companies, not struggling individuals!

Much of the general public needs relief, now! If your investments have gone sour from the various forces beyond your control, it’s time to act fast. When your hard-earned green has been hijacked by a 70 year old criminal mastermind, it’s time to recover. Speak with a skilled Legal Helpers attorney who focuses on bankruptcy cases everyday, and start getting back on your feet right now.