Nearly every person I speak to regarding the need to file bankruptcy tells me how ashamed they feel by the prospect of going bankrupt. They explain to me how they have always paid their bills and that no matter how hard they try, they cannot pay down their debts and are falling further and further behind. They feel they are alone, hopeless and are filled with despair. They feel they are bad people because of their financial situation and somehow deserve to suffer harsh consequences.
The purpose of this post is dispel the perceived stigma of bankruptcy. The stigma affects a person’s decision to exercise their Constitutional Rights and release themselves from overwhelming debt by getting a fresh start.
To begin with, it is creditors who promote the moral stigma of bankruptcy and make consumers feel terrible because they can no longer afford to pay their bills. And why not? Creditors have everything to gain by shaming, cajoling, browbeating and intimidating consumers into not filing bankruptcy. Creditors don’t tell consumers their legal options under the law because those options are not pro table to the creditor. Don’t expect creditors to tell you the truth about your legal rights in relation to your debt. Expect them to manipulate you into giving them all your money.
Most people don’t realize bankruptcy relief has a long history dating as far back as the Bible. In Deut. 15 1-2 the Bible itself provides for the periodic release from debts: ” At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. And this is the manner of release: every creditor shall release that which he has lent unto his neighbor and his brother; because the Lord’s release hath been proclaimed.”
Bankruptcy is every citizen’s right under under the law, provided for in the Constitution, intended to provide a fresh start for those financial distress and that many famous people and businesses have led for bankruptcy protection in the past and continue to do so today.
Many of America’s political, business and entertainment leaders have gotten a fresh start by ling bankruptcy. For example, did you know Thomas Jefferson (our 3rd President) and Abraham Lincoln (our 16th President) both filed bankruptcy several times? (And, they are not the only US Presidents who have done so.) In addition, Walt Disney, Henry Ford and P.T. Barnum also exercised their legal rights and filed for bankruptcy when their financial situations called for it.
Why should bankruptcy laws only apply to the famous, smart or wealthy citizens of these United States? The answer is they don’t: the legal right to file bankruptcy is protected in the U.S. Constitution and US laws. They apply to everyone equally. This includes you!
Call the Upper Peninsula Bankruptcy Lawyers: Church and Korhonen, PC today to see if you qualify for filing bankruptcy just like Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Walt Disney and so many other famous people have done countless time in the past.
What’s good for the famous can be good for you too.