Financial Dealings

May 9, 2012

Is Bankruptcy a Viable Option?

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Filing for bankruptcy should not be something you take lightly. Filing for bankruptcy will entail a lot of work and discipline, not to mention have an effect on your credit rating for a number of years. It may affect your financial dealings in future as you may find it more difficult to obtain credit after bankruptcy. But these factors should not dissuade you from filing for bankruptcy if you need to. If bankruptcy is a viable option for you, you should file a petition without hesitating. Millions of people have been helped by filing a bankruptcy petition. You can be one of them, too.

So the important thing is to determine if bankruptcy is a viable option for you. How do you tell?

1. Evaluate your debts
If your debts are increasing and it appears as though you would spend many years struggling to clear them, then you should seriously consider filing a bankruptcy petition. Bankruptcy is designed to wipe your slate clean and give you a fresh start financially. It is better to bite the bullet and go through the bankruptcy process and have a clean slate in a matter of months (or at most 5 years) than suffer decades of stress and heartache struggling under insurmountable financial debt.

2. Consider your credit score
Yes, bankruptcy does have an effect on your credit score, but so does not filing bankruptcy and missing monthly payments on your car loan, mortgage, credit card payments etc. So which is more damaging, being a discharged bankrupt and have your credit score repaired after bankruptcy or not being a bankrupt and having your credit rating plunge down the financial abyss?

3. Consider your sanity
Are you being hounded by creditors or debt collectors? You can put a stop to the incessant phone calls, notices of demand, lawyer’s letters, threats of lawsuits etc and reclaim your sanity by filing a bankruptcy petition. Once you file for bankruptcy, an automatic stay comes into immediate effect and your creditors are barred from contacting you or demanding for money.

4. Evaluate you financial habits
Do you consistently end up spending more than you earn? Do you suck at keeping to a budget? If so, filing bankruptcy would be beneficial to you as you would be obligated to attend credit counseling and financial management classes as a prerequisite to exiting bankruptcy. These lessons may well be the new start to your financial life that could put you on a firm footing to financial freedom in your future.

If any or all of these factors are applicable to you, then do consider filing for bankruptcy as it is a viable option for you. Call us now at (813) 200 4133 for a free consultation.

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    February 8, 2011

    Catholic Diocese Finances Exposed in Bankruptcy Filing

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    The Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January after failing to come to agreements with two dozen claimants who are seeking legal redress for sex abuse suffered at the hands of clergy decades ago.  In line with the bankruptcy procedures, the Archdiocese filed its financial statements in US Bankruptcy Court last Monday.  According to the filing, the Archdiocese owns $40.7 million in assets and has $24 million in liabilities.
    But the attorney representing the victims, Jeff Anderson said the financial statements were incomplete without giving any elaboration.  Anderson went on to liken the Milwaukee Archdiocese with the Diocese of San Diego that was rapped by its bankruptcy judge in 2007 because of misrepresentation in its assets.
    However, Archdiocese spokesman Jerry Topczewski disagreed with the similarity.  Topczewski, who is also the chief of staff for Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listeski, declared that the Archdiocese’s finances are open for scrutiny by all concerned.
    The bankruptcy court will decide what assets can be used to compensate creditors and victims and oversee a reorganization plan that enables the Archdiocese to continue functioning.  Most of the church’s assets are not able to be used for settlement as they are in restricted accounts.  According to Topczewski and Listecki, the church has about $7.1 million in cash and assets available for compensating victims.
    The $40.7 million declared in the financial statements is less than half of $98 million, the amount according to the church’s audited accounts in 2010.  This difference is attributed to $48 million in cemetery accounts and funds in accounts for other entities.
    Here are some details of the Archdiocese’s financial dealings according to the financial statement that was filed in bankruptcy court:
    1. In 2010, the archdiocese earned $25.9 million in income.  This was less than the $26.7 million earned in 2009.  Its income so far for fiscal year 2011 was $13.2 million.
    2. The Archdiocese owns 25 properties worth $7.7 million in total.  These are all cemeteries or schools and one youth home.  About half of them are listed as having no value.  Others range in value from $4.5 million for an undeveloped cemetery in Franklin to $120,000 for the Newman Center at UW-Whitewater.
    3. The archdiocese has bank and investment accounts worth about $19.7 million.
    4. The Archdiocese’s liabilities include $13.7 million for the retired priests’ health plan, $1.2 million for the pension plan for cemetery workers, $3.4 million for Messmer High School and $702,000 for payments to sex abuse victims who went through the archdiocese’s mediation process.
    5. The values of numerous items are listed as “unknown” in the financial statement, including those of liturgical vestments and jewelry, and numerous insurance policies.
    If you are interested in filing for bankruptcy protection, call us at (813) 200 4133 for a free consultation.


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    September 8, 2010

    Lender Cries Foul over Colorado Developer’s Bankruptcy

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    A Carbondale-based lender has objected to a Colorado developer’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, stating that it was done in bad faith.  Downtown Aspen Investments LLC filed a motion with the bankruptcy court to dismiss the filing of Aspen Legacy Holdings LLC, the owners of Hyman Avenue Buildings where Little Annie’s Eating House and the former Huntsman Gallery are located, as well as the parking lot at the corner of Hunter Street and Hyman.

    In the ongoing legal tussle between the two companies, Downtown Aspen Investments alleged that Aspen Legacy had defaulted on a loan given to it for $9.2 million in October 2008.  Consequently, Downtown Aspen Investments called for a judicial decision to be made on whether to call for receivers to oversee Aspen Legacy’s financial dealings.  A Pitkin County District court judge was supposed to have made a ruling on this matter at a hearing last month.

    But the hearing was put off when Aspen Legacy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection June 23 in the US district court in Denver.  This motion is seen as an attempt to circumvent the move by Downtown Aspen Investments to place Aspen Legacy under receivership.

    According to the motion filed by Downtown Aspen Investments, Aspen Legacy’s bankruptcy filing is also invalid because it was done by Edward Dingilian who was dismissed from his position as manager of Aspen Legacy before the filing was done.  Thus he had no authority to file for bankruptcy on behalf of Aspen Legacy.

    Dingilian is alleged to have misused about $500,000 of company funds and siphoned out his gains into family bank accounts in New York.  The motion points out that the bankruptcy filing was done less than 24 hours before the judge was due to give judgment at the hearing that would have exposed Dingilian’s embezzlement.

    However, Aspen Legacy’s attorney, Shaun A. Christensen said that the company chose to file for bankruptcy because it was more advantageous to the company than receivership, in which it would have to hand over control of its finances to the receiver.  According to Christensen, Aspen Legacy planned to either sell or refinance the Hyman Avenue Buildings which are currently worth $28 million.

    But Downtown Aspen Holding’s motion to dismiss contends that Aspen Legacy’s reorganization plan is not feasible.  The revenue it generates from Little Annie’s restaurant and the lease of the parking lot are insufficient even to cover tax and insurance payments, let alone service its loan.  Hence refinancing the property is not viable.

    Bankruptcy is a way to resolve your debt crisis provided by the law.  If you or your business are experiencing debt problems, consider filing for bankruptcy to start afresh in your financial status.  Call us at (813) 200 4133 for a free consultation or visit http://tampabankruptcy.pro.

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