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Do you know where you want to be in 20 years? What does that picture look like?
When facing debt problems, it is very important to envision what you want your financial life to look like in 20 years.  Because when you fail to have a clear vision of what the ideal life looks like, you tend to repeat the present problem.  Sure, you may get out of today’s financial mess, but then old habits return and the problem resumes.
When facing that life changing debt struggle, it is very important to write down very specific financial goals.  Very specific goals.

• I want my home paid off by age 55.
• I will save up 6-months of wages in a savings account.
• I want to take my grandchildren to the beach every summer until I die.
• I want to quit my full-time job by age 60 and then work part-time and volunteer more.
• I want to travel while I’m still young and healthy.
• I want my student loans paid off before my kids start college.

Why is this important? Because knowing where you want to end up instructs you on what you need to do today.
Want to loose 10 pounds by summer? Then start walking 1 mile today, 2 miles tomorrow, and eat a healthy diet.
Want to pay off the home in 10 years? Well, you have 260 paychecks to get the job done if you are paid bi-weekly.  So, how much a paycheck does it require? (Find out here.)
Want to take a 2nd honeymoon in Cancun, Mexico in 12 months?  How much a paycheck does that cost?
See what just happened?  Your long-term goal affects what you do now.  That is why it is so important to set long-term financial goals.  Without them, you lose track of how to spend that paycheck.
When deciding about whether to file bankruptcy, keeping those long-term goals in mind is important. Sure, you could opt for a debt repayment program and become debt free over 5 years, but will that undermine the long-term goal of paying off student loans or a mortgage?
Solving today’s temporary financial problem is only part of the analysis.  Most people underestimate what they can accomplish over a long period of time. The difference between paying off a mortgage over 15 years instead of 30 years is usually about $100 per month.  That’s really not much more, so why not do it?  A lousy $20 investment per week in a 401(k) plan yields a substantial retirement. Eating 100 few calories per day results in substantial weight loss over a year.
Tell me where you want to be in 20 years and I’ll tell you what you need to do with your money today.
There is only one day in your life that you have power over money, and that day is payday.  What you do or fail to do on payday determines whether you win or lose. Decide to win today.

Most individuals and business owners are probably already aware that bankruptcy is one of the most expedient ways to address financial problems caused from excessive debt. The constant creditor calls can cause stress, anxiety, and embarrassing situations. In some instances, hounding by creditors may interfere with one’s job or other business relationships. In other scenarios, a business owner may face significant obligations due to certain contracts or prior agreements, and outside of bankruptcy, lack the leverage needed to renegotiate these contracts.  
A Sacramento bankruptcy attorney of The Bankruptcy Group can provide solutions to address the full range of debt problems that people and businesses in California can face. In this post, our bankruptcy lawyers explain some of the additional features and powers of bankruptcy that can be used to handle a difficult financial situation. To discuss if these or another approach are a good fit for your financial situation, call The Bankruptcy Group at 1-800-920-5351 or contact us online today.
Bankruptcy Can Permit a Filer to Accept or Reject Certain Contracts or Leases
One of the more useful and powerful tools authorized by the United States Bankruptcy Code are the provisions concerning a debtor’s ability to assume or reject certain contracts. Specifically, the U.S Bankruptcy Code authorizes bankruptcy filers to avoid or accept executory contracts and unexpired leases. An executory contract is simply the legal way to describe a contract under which both parties of the agreement have remaining material obligations to fulfill.

While the code sets forth rules for when a debtor can accept and reject contracts, this provision allows for individuals and businesses to keep certain favorable contracts while eliminating those that have become a drag on the entity’s finances. Bankruptcy filers may assign assumed contracts to third parties, but certain caveats apply. For instance, any defaults must be cured prior to assignment.
Bankruptcy Can Provide Avoidance Powers and Allow an Entity to Recapture Assets
The U.S. Bankruptcy Code also includes provisions that are known as “avoidance powers.” Avoidance powers can be utilized to essentially turn back the clock and unwind certain financial actions that were taken in the period immediately preceding the bankruptcy. In situations where an individual or company’s financial health declined suddenly and precipitously, strategic use of avoidance powers can permit for the recapture of assets to satisfy creditors and handle debts.
Bankruptcy filers can essentially unwind certain transactions occurring within 90 days of the bankruptcy filing or the relevant preference period. An experienced Sacramento small business bankruptcy lawyer can assess your situation to determine whether transactions can be avoided, and thus, the assets can be returned to the entity.
Bankruptcy’s Automatic Stay Stops Creditor Calls and Collection Attempts
One of the biggest complaints and concerns potential clients express when they come into our bankruptcy law firm is that they want creditor collection calls to stop. Thankfully, and in most cases, bankruptcy’s automatic stay will stop creditor communications. The automatic stay is available for all forms of bankruptcy including Chapter 7, Chapter 11, and Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

However, the automatic stay only provides temporary relief. The good news is that the automatic stay and bankruptcy process means that creditor collection attempts will be limited to in-court proceedings as part of the bankruptcy process. In certain scenarios, the automatic stay may even be used to temporarily stave off a foreclosure or other action until more permanent relief can be arranged. To receive permanent relief, the individual or business will still need to proceed through the bankruptcy process and receive a bankruptcy discharge to correct the underlying debt issues that likely motivated the bankruptcy.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Code Contains Numerous Provisions to Help Eliminate Debt
At this point, it should probably be clear that the U.S. Bankruptcy Code contains numerous provisions that can be utilized by a strategic attorney to resolve your debts. The abilities to assume or reject contracts, avoidance powers, and even the automatic stay are all aspects of the bankruptcy code that the filer can use. To discuss your concerns with a bankruptcy attorney located in Roseville and Folsom, call 1-800-920-5351 today. All bankruptcy consultations are confidential and the initial consultation is free.
The post Bankruptcy Can Not Only Eliminate Debt but Also Grant Additional Powers to Business Owners appeared first on BK Law.

The Bankruptcy Code grants a trustee (or a debtor in possession) certain “avoidance” powers to recover payments to creditors made shortly before a bankruptcy filing where the payment gave the creditor more than other, similarly situated, creditors would receive through the bankruptcy process.  In a recent case in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan (the “Court”), the Court considered whether a payment made by a Chapter 7 debtor to her son in advance of the debtor’s bankruptcy filing was “preferential” and thus subject to recovery by the Chapter 7 trustee. Read More ›
Tags: Chapter 7, Western District of Michigan

The Treasury’s Home Affordable Modification Program, known as HAMP, will sunset on December 30, 2016. HAMP, put in place early in the Great Recession, provides two separate avenues for a homeowner with a qualified mortgage dated prior to January 1, 2009 that is in default or at imminent risk of default to seek a mortgage modification subject to program guidelines.
In order to take advantage of HAMP, a complete application package must be submitted to the participating mortgage servicer handling your mortgage by December 30, 2016.
Although there may be an opportunity to participate if something less than a complete package is submitted by year-end, you should get the papers in early and obtain confirmation that the package is complete as far before 12/30/16 as possible.
HAMP reviews are currently conducted under Bankruptcy Court supervision in the Southern District of New York (in the Poughkeepsie, White Plains and Manhattan divisions) under the Court’s Loss Mitigation program.
It is unclear what may be accomplished to assist the many remaining distressed homeowners who desire a mortgage modification after HAMP; mortgage servicers and consumer advocates have been in discussions about a possible new, voluntary program option. It is likely that in-house (investor) modifications will continue to be available to qualifying borrowers in some instances. Whether those programs will be of significant value to homeowners post-HAMP remains to be seen.