Bank finance articles and tips

With America seeing one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression, it's no surprise that over 1 million individuals will file for bankruptcy this year. Many people have been putting off filing bankruptcy over the last couple years hoping that things were going to get better. According to the data, it seems to be getting much worse.

Unemployment is standing at 9.2% nationwide without taking into consideration the number of individuals that are partially employed or have just given up going back to work completely. These people fall off the radar and are no longer recorded as a statistic.

It seems like the ultimate irony: the more broke you are, the more likely it is that you'll declare bankruptcy - and the more likely that you'll stay broke in the foreseeable future.

Even after declaring bankruptcy, there always seems to be one expense after the other that eats up your income. So when it appears that the financial cards are against you, what's a fed-up individual like yourself to do?

It's time to make the mortgage payment, but you don't have a dime to your name. All of your income has gone to an unforeseeable emergency that's just completely drained you of your resources - and there's no extra money coming in until your next payday. If you've got bills that need to be paid or an emergency that requires your immediate financial resources, then the thought of taking out a payday loan might seem like a much-needed solution to an overwhelming problem.

But before you head to that payday loan center to sign the dotted line, take a minute to really think over this decision: are payday loans ever worth the trouble - or do they just cause a domino effect putting you deeper into debt?

Filing for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy can provide the immediate financial relief you'll need. Chapter 7 bankruptcies are relatively quicker than their more complicated Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 counterparts - and as you don't have to undergo any repayment plans, you'll immediately experience relief from your biggest debts.

However, that doesn't mean that you'll experience relief from ALL of your debts; in fact, there are exemptions to this rule that can ultimately determine whether or not you'll file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If one of your biggest debts can't be discharged by a Chapter 7, you and your bankruptcy attorney view other alternatives.

With this in mind, let's take a look at the debts that can't be discharged in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Declaring a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy with a bankruptcy lawyer is an option that you can take if you've been struggling with mounting bills, crippling credit card payments and other debts that are eating away at your hard-earned money.

Filing for bankruptcy is a relatively easy process - especially with an experienced bankruptcy attorney by your side - that can take anywhere from three to six months to finalize, and can give you that much-needed chance to give your credit score the healthy boost that it needs. When filing for bankruptcy, it's important to remember that there are certain debts that can be claimed as an exemption, both on the state and federal level. Luckily, we've got the rundown of what exemptions you can claim when filing.

When filing bankruptcy, a debtor can keep their car using several strategies. Let's take a look at a few:

If You Own Your Vehicle

If you own your vehicle and don't have a lease or loan attached to it, you can hold onto the car in Chapter 7 bankruptcy. As long as the vehicle is covered completely by the bankruptcy exemption allowances, Chapter 7 bankruptcy will allow a debtor to hold onto their car while discharging other unsecured debts. However, if the vehicle's value exceeds your bankruptcy exemptions then the bankruptcy trustee may ask you to sell the vehicle and distribute to creditors the amount which exceeds the bankruptcy exemption. Or, the bankruptcy trustee may allow you to pay cash for the amount that exceeds the exemptions. For example, if you have a vehicle worth $6,000 and an exemption for only $5,000, then you can pay the bankruptcy estate $1,000 cash and keep your vehicle.