According to excerpts taken from a news article posted in the San Francisco Chronicle, dated September 2, 2010 and written by Victoria Colliver, an Alameda County report showed home foreclosures were related to creating health problems. Colliver wrote, “The report found foreclosures have not only economic consequences, but create health problems for the people and families involved, and those effects can ripple throughout a community. In a survey of nearly 400 residents in two Oakland neighborhoods particularly hard hit by the foreclosure crisis, the Alameda Public Health Department and Causa Justa/Just Cause, a housing rights group, teamed up to look at how people undergoing foreclosure experience higher levels of stress and increased medical problems.” They discovered that “tenants living in buildings in foreclosure have similar problems. The survey found that residents who are going through foreclosure or recently lost their homes were more than twice as likely to say that their mental and physical health had worsened over the past two years than those not going through foreclosure. Those residents were also twice as likely to report stress, depression or anxiety over the past month.”

Foreclosures are one of the main reasons there is a record breaking number of bankruptcies being filed in the United States today. The number of Americans filing for personal bankruptcy rose by nearly a third in 2009, a surge largely driven by foreclosures and job losses. Overall, personal bankruptcy filings hit 1.41 million last year, up 32% from 2008, according to the National Bankruptcy Research Center. Chapter 7 filings were up more than 42% as of November 2009, compared with the same period a year earlier. November is the most recent month with analyzed data available. Chapter 13 filings rose by 12% and made up less than a third of 2009 filings as of November. The Chapter 7 increases in filings are especially significant because a “means” test was introduced in 2005 in order to force people toward a Chapter 13 so they would still have to pay back a portion of their debts. Instead, the worst US recession in four decades is testing the effectiveness of the “means” test laws.

The housing crisis and high unemployment rate in this recession have prompted more people to file for bankruptcy who never have considered the possibility than ever before. More middle-class Americans, people with high incomes, and people with higher education levels have resorted to bankruptcy filings. Bankruptcies are happening to famous people, rich people, poor people, infamous people, and people all between because bankruptcy is no respecter of persons or standings in society. Bankruptcy can happen to anyone at anytime. It can happen to you.

If foreclosures cause both sickness in the populace and bankruptcies to rise, then maybe their should be a study done to see if filing for bankruptcy protection could be one of the cures for the sickness as well as the debtor’s financial woes. The moment you file a bankruptcy, a judge will order all collecting actions to cease, an important feature called the automatic stay. The automatic stay, applicable to all types of bankruptcy filings, means that the mere request for bankruptcy protection automatically stops and brings to a cessation certain lawsuits, foreclosures, utility shut-offs, evictions, repossessions, garnishments, attachments, and debt collection harassment. That means all creditors will have to go through a US Bankruptcy Court trustee in order to deal with their debtors.

Certainly, immediately stopping the foreclosure proceeding should send some stress relief to the stressed-out debtors. Even if the relief is temporary, knowing that there is fairness within the system that does not favor one side or the other, should create a healthier view for the debtor. Filing for bankruptcy is a legal proceeding that is designed to protect both creditor and debtor and to allow the honest person or business an opportunity to work their way out of a bad financial situation, or in some cases, to start afresh. Sometimes starting over is therapeutic too.

Maybe you have recently received foreclosure notice on your home, and you are now facing a bankruptcy situation. Before the foreclosure causes you health problems, it may be wise to investigate your options. If you are considering filing bankruptcy for protection, common sense should tell you that because the bankruptcy laws are so complicated, you should enlist a bankruptcy lawyer to help you understand how the complex laws might help you in your situation. If you determine you are in need of relief from the stress associated with debt, and you live in or around the metropolitan area of Alameda County, California, contact us today. We will help you find a bankruptcy attorney in your area that will help you with any questions you may have on bankruptcy law.

Similar Posts:

Share