It’s just stuff, filing for bankruptcy

As Rome burns, the only thing Americans care about is their stuff and how much they can hoard. This idea is embedded in modern society. It begins with young children learning the word, mine. I was raised in a different generation and if that word came out of my mouth, it would blow the tar out of me. Now the new parents think that their little prince/princess can do no wrong and is cute. This behavior has continued into adolescence until a boy gets his driver’s license and gets the crazy idea that he is owed a new car. Well, all the other kids are given one, why shouldn’t they? Then it’s time to go to college and it’s not good enough to go to college, but a prestigious four-year college is more suited to the way they’ve been raised. My friends, this is the entitlement generation and it’s all about self-gratification and collecting more stuff. Instead of going into debt forever, these kids should be asking the question: Is college really worth it? In America today, this entitlement generation is creating a new bubble, it’s the student loan bubble. In 2013, student loan debt topped $1 trillion and without jobs to help these graduates make the payments, a dangerous bubble is created that is about to burst. Currently, $124 billion of this debt is more than 90 days past due. But most kids don’t understand that they can’t even file for this debt later in life if they have to. Sure bankruptcy could be in their future, but this debt will follow them forever. So one thing is for sure, they will have their education and their debt after filing for bankruptcy, so they don’t need to worry about losing that at least.

In this self-absorbed generation, these people will try to avoid filing for bankruptcy at all costs because they fear losing all their property if they do. Truth be told, this is one of the things that should be filed under the myths and legends of a bankruptcy filing. I think the most corrupt creditors and debt collectors love to tell people stories about what will happen to them if they file for bankruptcy. This could be one of those stories that gets told, because they know that if a person files a return, he won’t even be able to contact that debtor anymore. If they can scare the debtor, they will continue to make minimum payments on their debts until they can no longer afford it. While many of these people shouldn’t be holding on so tightly to their belongings, it’s rare for a person to be wiped out in a bankruptcy filing. When Congress created bankruptcy, they needed to craft bankruptcy exemption laws that would allow a person to keep a generous amount of property or else the person would not have the fresh start that bankruptcy promises.

In recent years, many Americans have exercised their right to file for bankruptcy due to what happened to the economy after the housing bubble burst. People who file for bankruptcy can rest assured that they will not lose all of their property when they file for bankruptcy. This idea that the bankruptcy trustee wants to go to the filer’s house with a big truck and take everything to the flea market is completely false. In today’s economy, the trustee will weigh the cost against the reward in taking any non-exempt property. Again, it is a good idea to hire a bankruptcy attorney to prepare your bankruptcy petition because he or she will know the ins and outs of the code and will be able to protect the maximum amount of property in the filing. There are two types of bankruptcy exemptions an individual can select from, first there are the federal exemptions which are very generic, then there are the state exemptions which most people choose. Although bankruptcy is under federal law, each state has its own bankruptcy exemptions and statutes added to the code. The reason states have their own bankruptcy exemption laws is because sometimes the property can be region specific. For example, there might be an exemption in Kansas to protect a tractor that would not apply to someone who lives in New York City. In general, it is still best to let a bankruptcy attorney make the decision about which exemptions to use.