Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

ARE you worried about how the worsening economy may personally affect you and your family? Worried about your job and your dwindling income? If your expenses are out of control and you are living paycheck to paycheck, you may have a good reason to be concerned especially if you don’t have an emergency fund. As we go through turbulent economic times, I am also seeing that debt has become a major concern for families and small business owners. Is your current financial situation causing you to have sleepless nights?

Experts predict that it may take a while for the economy to improve. As a bankruptcy attorney, the questions that I am often asked are: "Will my family’s increasing debt load result in bankruptcy?" "What happens if I lose my home in foreclosure?" A lot of people are overwhelmed with the difficult choices and situations that they face. If you are going through a bankruptcy or foreclosure, you may be feeling a lot of anxiety and depression at the moment. But life is sometimes full of unexpected events and the most we can do is to deal with our current situation and remain positive that eventually things will turn around for the better. What’s your personal financial recovery plan?

If you find that bankruptcy is your only option, remember that you are not alone. Last year, over 2 million people filed for personal bankruptcy. These people are just like you- average, hard-working individuals who are doing their best to pay their bills but came to a realization at some point that they needed help in order to get a fresh financial start. When appropriate for your situation, bankruptcy can be a positive solution that can help you rebuild from scratch. Think about it: If you are at a point where you can’t pay your bills and your very livelihood is at risk because creditors are threatening to sue you and garnish your wages, what do you do? Things don’t have to go from bad to worse, unless you let them- by doing nothing. Bankruptcy protection can provide you immediate relief from all creditor actions so that you can regain financial footing. That’s all it really is- a legal remedy that allows you to regain control of your finances so that you can start over. In life, sometimes all you need is a second chance.