Bankruptcy
I am a San Francisco and Contra Costa Bankruptcy Attorney
As a San Francisco and Walnut Creek bankruptcy attorney I often encounter the question by clients whether filing a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy is an ethical thing to do. We take this question seriously and also look into whether there are other options to filing a bankruptcy.
Sacramento bankruptcy attorney
Having lived in Sacramento we maintain relationships with our clients in Sacramento. We offer bankruptcy services to our Sacramento County clients from our office on 1104 Corporate Way.
Are you thinking about filing Bankruptcy ?
If you think about bankruptcy as a solution to your situation, you are not alone. Bankruptcy filings have increased drastically in 2008 and in 2009. Some areas in California have seen a doubling of bankruptcy filings. As the economic downturn continues, many Americans are seeking bankruptcy relief to get out from under overwhelming credit card debt, second mortgage obligations, medical bills or rental property liabilities.And even if some economic data is pointing upwards the unemployment and underemployment is still rising causing many people in the bay area and in Sacramento to use their credit cards to pay for regular expenses until they reach a point where the cards are maxed out.
Bankruptcy Attorney in Sacramento on Ethical Dilemma
Should you feel guilty?
Our economy is based on consumer spending. Approximately 70% of the United States' gross national product comes from consumers, who spend their hard-earned money on products and services. Spending has been advocated as a national duty by politicians for the past twenty years. Wherever we go are told “buy, buy, buy”. In recent years credit card companies have aggressively targeted even those consumers who should not have qualified for a credit card because of their debt-to-income ratio. Billions of credit applications are being sent every year to consumers without any meaningful credit checks in place. Consumers with low credit scores and young people have been targeted especially heavily in recent years. Credit card companies count on their future earning potential and expect that parents will pay if their children default.
Until recently, credit was readily available and it made it easy to live beyond one’s means. However, the downturn in the housing marked forced thousands of hard-working and modest people to use their credit cards as emergency funds to supplement their income. Mortgages adjusted and higher payments had to be paid while income had gone down.
Bailout for Consumers
We have seen huge government bailouts of financial institutions who took on too much risk in the past. All of the money for these bailouts has to be shouldered by the taxpayer who in turn has not seen any meaningful relief from the bailout. Banks in general have not become more cooperative when it comes to giving consumers a break with their mortgages despite receiving billions of dollars. The Bankruptcy Code provides protection and as such acts as a bailout for consumers who are overburdened by debt and are not given a break from their creditors.
There is no need for the consumer to feel guilty about filing for bankruptcy. Large credit card companies treat bankruptcy only as the cost of doing business.
We are bankruptcy attorneys in Walnut Creek, San Francisco, Sacramento, Contra Costa and the Bay Area. As bankruptcy lawyers in Fairfield, Walnut Creek and Sacramento, we serve clients in Northern California. We serve bankruptcy clients in Contra Costa County, Sacramento County, Solano County and surrounding counties. As Contra Costa bankruptcy lawyers, we are witnessing the rise in foreclosures in the cities of Antioch, Pitsburgh, Brentwood, Oakley and Concord.