Reasons for Bankruptcy Filings in One County Trash the "Deadbeat" Theory
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06 | 7 | 2006 Posted By Kevin Chern Esq.
Reasons for Bankruptcy Filings in One County Trash the "Deadbeat" Theory
The snapshot of Cumberland County, North Carolina that illustrated how bankruptcy filings are rising across the country gave us another piece of presumably represenatative data--data that matches what consumer bankruptcy attorneys have been saying for years. While the credit industry did a good job of convincing Congress that bankruptcy was a sort of financial planning for deadbeats, allowing the irresponsible to live in luxury at our expense, consumer bankruptcy attorneys have long maintained that the majority of their clients arrive in their offices as the result of some life-altering event like divorce, job loss, or major medical expenses.
Data provided to The Fayettville Observer by Consumer Credit Counseling Service indicates that in Cumberland County, the reasons for post-law-change filings broke down like this:
28%: Medical Bills
24%: Job Loss/Work Reduction
16%: Divorce/Separation
8%: Death of Spouse
That's 76% of filers. The remaining 24% were divided among legal expenses, the need to avoid foreclosure (although many of those cases may have been triggered by an event like those listed above), and financial mismanagement, which accounted for only 12% of filings.
These numbers are highly reflective of the statistics consumer bankruptcy attorneys have been suggesting for years.
>
06 | 7 | 2006 Posted By Kevin Chern Esq.
Reasons for Bankruptcy Filings in One County Trash the "Deadbeat" Theory
The snapshot of Cumberland County, North Carolina that illustrated how bankruptcy filings are rising across the country gave us another piece of presumably represenatative data--data that matches what consumer bankruptcy attorneys have been saying for years. While the credit industry did a good job of convincing Congress that bankruptcy was a sort of financial planning for deadbeats, allowing the irresponsible to live in luxury at our expense, consumer bankruptcy attorneys have long maintained that the majority of their clients arrive in their offices as the result of some life-altering event like divorce, job loss, or major medical expenses.
Data provided to The Fayettville Observer by Consumer Credit Counseling Service indicates that in Cumberland County, the reasons for post-law-change filings broke down like this:
28%: Medical Bills
24%: Job Loss/Work Reduction
16%: Divorce/Separation
8%: Death of Spouse
That's 76% of filers. The remaining 24% were divided among legal expenses, the need to avoid foreclosure (although many of those cases may have been triggered by an event like those listed above), and financial mismanagement, which accounted for only 12% of filings.
These numbers are highly reflective of the statistics consumer bankruptcy attorneys have been suggesting for years.
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