The question of morality in bankruptcy

[HHM]

Here are some perspectives

http://methnerlaw.com/2009/09/17/morality-and-bankruptcy-is-paying-bills-the-definition-of-a-hero/

http://methnerlaw.com/2009/06/11/the-unforeseen-event-the-turkey-and-thanksgiving-you-and-bankruptcy/

http://methnerlaw.com/2009/03/22/sunday-reflection-moral-disequivalence-between-debtor-and-creditor/

[october99]

I haven't pulled the trigger yet as I'm trying to find the right attorney and figure out what we're doing about the house. I think a lot of people who are pushed to bk feel the way you do and it is something that only you can work through in your own way. For me knowledge is power and misery loves company. This forum is great for that!

I do want to mention though that it is not as if there are no reprecussions to bk. Folks who file have to live within their means, operate on a cash basis and go without credit extended to them. They also have the risk of it affecting their chances at a job in the future.

[onthefence]

beachchick-

All I can say is that I have been there myself. I will be filing my CH7 paperwork this week and I am past it. This forum has been so helpful for me to understand that bankruptcy is a business decision. It helps to look at it that way - try and take the emotions out of it. We have been struggling to pay our debt load for years and had been scraping by, until DH lost his job. That is when the bottom dropped out for us. It was a difficult decision to file for bankruptcy - we too felt that we owed this debt and had an obligation to pay. When I conveyed this to our cc's (DH lost job, we felt obligated to pay our debts, etc) all they told me was that they couldn't do anything to help (some even hiked up our interest rates due to our new debt to income ratio) and that I needed to continue to make at least my minimum monthly payments on time.

We did all we could to cut our expenses and trim back on all we could. We realized that there is just not enough $$ coming in to cover necessary expenses plus debts. We talked to a CCCS counselor and they actually suggested that we file for bankruptcy. That was hard to swallow - but as I said, these feelings went away. This forum has been a tremendous resource for me - both for the wealth of information and the emotional support it provides knowing that you are not going through this alone.

Yes there is a societal stigma attached to filing bankruptcy and this is why we are not personally sharing with anyone other than a very close few. But know this - no one here will judge, only be supportive and helpful - I know that has been the case for me.

Best wishes.
OTF

[jjim120]

As our attorney said to us, bankruptcy solves the immediate problems. After bankruptcy, if you are fortunate enough to come back from the devastation, you may work out anything you want with the former creditors or anyone else. Whether you get a good paying job or win the lottery, you can then deal with the moral aspects of not being able to pay the bills.

Should we ever be able to pay back our friends who stayed with us and the people who have been hurt by the devastation caused by the con games that forced us into bankruptcy, you can bet that we would pay back a lot of people who were also taken in the con game, including trying to pay as much as possible to the subcontractors and associates who were owed money on the project that they will never see from the con artist bank and new owner that stole the property.

It is just the right and moral thing to do if you are in a position to do it.

[ccsjoe]

I felt the same way. My solution was twofold. One I educated myself and my wife about bk, so we could talk about it and consider it as an option without the stigma associated with it. Once we were able to be comfortable with it as another business tool available, we sat down and hashed out our numbers realistically and came to our set of conclusions that led us down this path. Two, the biggest moral dilemma we had was missing our first payment. See, we had perfect payment history, like several others here. Never a missed or late, never, never, never...even if it stupidly meant using needed cash to pay, then using whatever limit was available on the cc to cover for the needed cash deficiency...stupid right? Even more so...up until the very first missed payment, and I mean up until 4:59pm of the due date I was sitting staring at my screen with the mouse pointed to the "make payment" button....I had until 5pm to pay before it was considered late. Come to think about it now, what was inmoral was short changing my family of things we needed (think back to school shopping, etc) in order to maintain our status quo.

You are not being inmoral, you are making a business decision. You have weighed your options, thrown your numbers, projections, etc. This has nothing to do with emotions, although it is an emotional ride...but this is all about a business decision. As such, and being an option afforded to you by the law, how exactly are you being inmoral?

Just my three cents (inflation and all).

[beachchick]

I am struggling with the question of the morality of filing for bankruptcy. I know it is the only solution to my unstainable debt problem but how do I deal with the with the moral issue, after all so many of the public has the idea that people who file are basically getting away with murder and off scot-free, most think walking away from debt is immoral, I know in my heart I did allI could to avoid it, but I still feel in some weird way that I am being immoral, any advice?