Modesto Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog

An article out of Florida reports that more women than men are seeking help with personal debt, possibly brought on by job loss for men in recent years, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Regardless of why people are seeking credit counseling, or which gender is more likely to seek help, it is a problem that harms and affects people of all backgrounds. Modesto Bankruptcy Lawyers have helped many people of various stages of life with filing for bankruptcy in Modesto.

Medical bills, job loss and predatory lending have left many Americans and people here in Modesto in over their head in debt. Some seek help with their homes and slip into mortgage foreclosure scams that can leave them in worse shape financially. Others look to credit counselors, who try to help the consumers reorganize debt or negotiate with creditors and lenders. But they charge a fee to people who are stuck trying to get by often by paying the minimum on their credit cards. With little authority, but only advise, sometimes it doesn't work. Other times it's a scam.

But filing for and qualifying for bankruptcy in Modesto will help people clear away debt and give them a fresh start. Being able to clear away debts that have creditors calling and threatening to garnish wages is refreshing for many of our clients who feel like there are few places to turn for help. We will assess your situation and help you figure out what avenues exist to best help you.

And for those who want to stay in a house that is on the brink of foreclosure, filing for bankruptcy immediately stops the process.

According to the article out of Florida, more than 62 percent of the clients of one of the largest credit-counseling agencies in the state are female. Historically, the gender gap has existed going back for most of the last decade.

The newspaper and others speculate that more women today are the breadwinners in households, though studies show women still make about 80 percent of what men make in the workplace. But with 4 million people -- mostly men -- losing their jobs in the construction industry during the Great Recession, it's possible that more women are being forced to lead the household and are more in charge of family finances.

Whatever the reason for out-of-control debt, credit counseling may not be the answer for everyone. Bankruptcy can sometimes be a more stable and long-term solution to debt and can be more beneficial to a person's credit score than counseling. If debt lingers, a credit score can suffer. But taking care of it in one fell swoop can more quickly get a person or family on a fresh path financially.

Continue reading "More Women Seek Credit Card Debt Help Than Men in California" »

The Stockton Record is reporting that while foreclosure filings in California are down nearly 28 percent from a year ago in May, the Stockton metro area remains among the hardest hit by the mortgage meltdown.

Consulting with a bankruptcy attorney in Stockton or Modesto could stop foreclosure or prevent you from being subjected to a deficiency judgment or other consequences. Bankruptcy laws are designed to help people take control of their finances, and using those laws to one's advantage can provide many advantages.

The Stockton metropolitan area, which includes all of San Joaquin County, ranked second nationwide in the rate of default filings, followed closely by Vallejo-Fairfield ranking third and Modesto ranking fourth. Las Vegas led the way with the most defaults filed followed by the Reno-Sparks area in fifth.

"It's a reflection of how deeply buried the Stockton area was by the mortgage tsunami. We're up to 18 straight months of year-over-year decreases in foreclosure activity," Daren Blomquist, a RealtyTrac spokesman said of San Joaquin County legal filings, which include trustee sales, notices of default and lender repossessions. "The trend is in the right direction, but the numbers are still persistently high."

According to RealtyTrac there were 1,652 recorded foreclosure filings on San Joaquin County houses in May. Though this shows an almost 26 percent decrease from the 2,222 recorded in the same month in 2010 it still means 1 out of 139 households are filing for foreclosure.

Nationally, RealtyTrac reported nearly 215,000 foreclosure filings in May, a drop of 2 percent from April and a drop of 33 percent from May 2010. That means that last month, 1 out of every 605 housing units filed for foreclosure. Led by California, five states accounted for 51 percent of the national foreclosure activity in May, where almost 52,000 properties got a foreclosure filing. Florida had 19,192 foreclosure filings followed by Michigan with 14,614, Arizona with 13,122 and Nevada with 11,039.

"Foreclosure processing delays continue to mask the true face of the foreclosure situation, although there were some clues in the May numbers of what lies behind that mask," says James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. "First, activity spiked in May for various stages of the foreclosure process in some states, a pattern that has occurred in several states over the past few months. This pattern provides evidence that lenders are somewhat unevenly pushing batches of bad loans through foreclosure as they overhaul their paperwork and documentation procedures and as they determine that some local markets are able to absorb more foreclosure inventory.

Filing for bankruptcy doesn't have to be painful; millions of Americans do it every year. Many bankruptcies are beyond the debtor's control, caused by circumstances like a devastating illness or injury or loss of a job. Filing for bankruptcy is an option to rid yourself from debt due to medical bills, credit cards or student loans. Let our attorneys assess your case and determine the best course of action for you.

Continue reading "Foreclosure Filings Still up in Stockton, Modesto Areas" »