Blogs

In a month or so, many high school seniors will be walking across that stage to get their diplomas and mark the milestone in life that is high school graduation. Moms, dads, grandparents, siblings, family and friends will be there to cheer on their high school seniors and offer their warm congratulations and best wishes. Many of those graduating seniors will be college bound come the fall.

Money problems can put a strain on our lives.  Over the years, I have had many people confide in me that they had contemplated suicide because of their debt problems.  There are countless articles about debt problems being the cause of suicide.

Recently I had the opportunity to be involved with a "round table" discussion regarding the damaging effects of student loans on at least two generations now as more and more people are getting hooked into the idea that they must get a college education.

Recently, we had an individual come to our office complaining about another attorney in the area where she had to Skype with the attorney for a free consultation about her filing bankruptcy.  She said she felt rushed and only received about 15 minutes with the attorney on the Skype call. When the Skype call was over, she still had a number of questions but was left with an assistant (non-attorney) to answer those questions.

Tax Day is nearly upon us! Have you filed your 2017 tax returns yet? This year’s tax due date is April 17, 2018, only a few weeks away. I’ve found that many people put off filing their tax returns for many reasons. One of those reasons is that they cannot afford to pay a tax preparer or certified public accountant to help them and don’t have the resources or access to try and file the returns on their own.

If you own an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) you still have until April 17, 2018 to make your contribution to be eligible for a tax credit or deduction on your 2017 tax return. If you are wondering why that particular date, this year’s tax-filing deadline is April 17th. So make sure your file your 2017 tax return or extension on or prior to then as well.

As my colleagues and I have discussed in previous blogs, a normal Chapter 13 bankruptcy case consolidates your debts and allows you to repay at least a portion of those debts over a period of up to 5 years.  As the saying goes, life can come at you fast, and a lot can happen in 5 years.

For my generation, no middle school trip to the mall was complete without a visit to Claire’s to pick up some jewelry, gifts, or maybe even get your ears pierced.  In fact, Claire’s says it has pierced more than 100 million ears around the world!  Last week, the company became the last retailer to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

If you grew up in Chicago or in the Chicago Suburbs in the late 70s and early 80s, chances are good that you will recognize this iconic symbol:

New statistics reveal that the retirement outlook is not so great for almost half of Americans. According to a recent CNBC news article (citing a report from GoBankingRates), around 42% of Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement.