Law Offices of John G Phillips, PA

01/27/2024

https://www.uscourts.gov/news/2024/01/26/bankruptcy-filings-rise-168-percent?fbclid=IwAR2N1lJU2korYkvgQSICJXAa0ZUN8O0n_yRGJHzUX_zZtbhJg2OZdA-Y7uQ_aem_AaIpW8s0mDu7qta69PW0basSXq6d5tI9TA1tTm984w3I-l8oZ2Q2SZ-HsfGqRvqy2Ws

Total bankruptcy filings rose 16.8 percent, with significant increases in both business and non-business bankruptcies, in the twelve-month period ending Dec. 31, 2023. This accelerates a continuing rebound in filings after more than a decade of sharply dropping totals.

08/30/2023

https://moneywise.com/news/economy/ny-fed-reported-credit-card-auto-loan-delinquency-rates-now-higher-than-before-pandemic?fbclid=IwAR2lrh6X6okjtswnvdbvnMry4bjk64qnjhcQksmp49Undv0ryin-NJmycmk_aem_AXlgE5wwpRvzfFWXLxe0x9xepj40ZVteGwVA90MYVqBWVF1ZE1ipQzwKq-RHZdmUc0Q&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

“Americans are beginning to borrow money they can’t afford to pay back.”

07/04/2023

https://www.reuters.com/legal/bankruptcy-filings-surge-first-half-2023-us-epiq-2023-07-03/?fbclid=IwAR2JHB8oFNIbTS4hpS4hFWTBLgpPnv24hOqA2HPEXZcFK1vusfzvGfzbIBs_aem_AXK8LGexPJMtGkX-POrEa5O1U0PV3S_OvP4tZ48W86mp_L9svfRnBwkqUsFMRFyciM0&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings jumped 68% in the first half of 2023 from a year earlier, Epiq Bankruptcy, a provider of U.S. bankruptcy filing data, said on Monday.

06/12/2023

A leading cause of people needing our services is civil suits and garnishments. So often, people don’t even know until a judgment exists because the address used for service wasn’t correct. Fortunately, we can still take care of the garnishment with a bankruptcy but the system does cause a lot of undue stress.

The business of state civil courts has changed over the past three decades. In 1990, a typical civil court docket featured cases with two opposing sides, each with an attorney, most frequently regarding commercial matters and disputes over contracts, injuries, and other harms.

08/03/2022

I'm glad they are writing about this issue that we have seen, well, as long as I have practiced bankruptcy law but it would have been helpful if they mentioned that Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy can help people out who find themselves in this dilemma.

"They are designed for a default," says Mallory Sanders, a lawyer at Legal Aid of Arkansas in Springdale, of car loans to hourly workers that led to repos in...

07/31/2022

Not a good sign.

A new report from Bank of America Institute adds two more gloomy data points illustrating that the U.S. housing sector is in a downturn.

07/16/2022

https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2022/07/15/warning-to-pulaski-taxpayers-notices-of-the-countywide-reppraisal-are-in-the-mail-and-values-are-up-way-up?fbclid=IwAR1JOpWBJEJe_HSl8LdAmKIUw2n8qrfKQfwDEBvUy_K8pH_W5LsA_w9V0z8&fs=e&s=cl

A required reappraisal finds a 30 percent increase in the market value of property in Pulaski County

07/02/2022

Also not a good sign.

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/29/1108109505/job-cuts-layoffs-economy-recession?utm_source=pocket-newtab&fbclid=IwAR0kozrCXe7lsQE-lTUn05sYOcFTaykakaG5tGSVQSNbanQNxXnHiqMR1Xs&fs=e&s=cl

Tesla, JPMorgan, Netflix, Redfin and Coinbase are among companies that are cutting jobs. While layoffs are contained to the hottest parts of the economy, there's fear they could spread elsewhere.

07/02/2022

This is not a good sign.

https://www.npr.org/2022/07/02/1109105779/monthly-car-payments-record-700?fbclid=IwAR2-oX_35zHoC8VHAnhcmYe3rdvKA6eQ0km4GWhG_1mFiNHw8g5prA9IW0w&fs=e&s=cl

The average cost of a new car is also at the highest on record, topping $47,000 a pop. At this rate, an essential household purchase is starting to feel like a luxury in America.

05/01/2022

This article does its best to portray this as anything other than a bad sign, but from speaking to creditor attorneys, these foreclosure numbers are only going to rise. Couple that with an economy in contraction, people having bought homes recently at a price point that is too high and rampant inflation, it’s actually a problem that will get much worse for a few years before it gets better. Fortunately, this is something we can stop with a bankruptcy filing and give a person up to 5 years to get caught up on the mortgage.

Plus, what to know if you are considering buying a foreclosure.

02/21/2022

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/17/politics/biden-student-loan-bankruptcy/index.html?fbclid=IwAR24PpW704dXjQsUSnEgYWf0o1IwgJ6QiD_ZrN-lXy6R0QpCJ32ClTSf6e8

Pressure is growing on the Biden administration to make it easier to discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy. Currently, borrowers must meet a high burden of proof: that paying the loans off would cause "undue hardship."

02/21/2022

After years of hoping and seeing nothing happen, I’m cautiously optimistic that maybe Congress will actually amend the law or the government will adjust its position on opposing or encouraging debtors to pursue student loan discharge in bankruptcy. It’s a very limited option currently but there seems to be a growing groundswell to at least revisit the issue after several decades spent making it harder to obtain.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/17/politics/biden-student-loan-bankruptcy/index.html?fbclid=IwAR24PpW704dXjQsUSnEgYWf0o1IwgJ6QiD_ZrN-lXy6R0QpCJ32ClTSf6e8