Ohio Bankruptcy Law Blog

The last thing that Ohio residents who have debts that they are finding it difficult to pay need to deal with are annoying and overly pushy debt collectors. Fortunately there are laws in place that protect consumers from what may be harassing activities. However, despite these laws some debt collectors still go too far in the effort of obtaining payment. Consumers should be educated about what is legal and what is not in this regard so as to protect their rights.

Many attempts to collect a debt are made by phone and while this is legal there are limits as to when a debt collector may or may not call a consumer. Calling someone at 5:00 a.m. or at 11:00 p.m., for example, is not allowed. Calls should only be made during reasonable hours of the day. Similarly, making too many calls in a short period of time and even threatening people or speaking in threatening or violent manners is not appropriate.

College students nationwide wonder about their futures regarding student loans, and how they will pay off those loans. Oftentimes, these students and graduates fall into an unfortunate pocket of student debt that lingers for years, and even decades, after graduation. Ohio is all too familiar with this type of debt, and recent news shows that the state even has the most student debt in the country. What causes this overwhelming amount of debt, and what are the possible solutions?

An article in Bloomberg echoes this preexisting worry across the country, stating that, as of 2015, student debt in America hit an all-time high of $1.4 trillion. 2015 was also the eighteenth consecutive year that American's education debt rose, and aside from mortgage debt, student debt stands at the foreground of financial obligations among young Americans. Many experts predict that this alarming debt could mean trouble down the road for U.S. economic growth. To improve collected data, and ultimately start reducing this debt, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently announced a proposal to collect more detailed information from the nation's biggest student loan companies.

Sometimes debts become so high that an Ohio person, despite great efforts, may never be able to pay them down barring winning the lottery. In such instance, one of the few ways certain to gain freedom from such a life-defeating burden is bankruptcy.

There are a few types of bankruptcy filings, and individuals generally look to Chapters 7 and 13. For Chapter 7, there are necessary steps a debtor must perform before he or she can successfully get applicable debts discharged in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Ohio spouses know that of the many things that may contribute to conflict and discord in a marriage, financial challenges is perhaps one of the most common. For many people, things can get so bleak that not only do they contemplate ending their marriages but they also pursue the option of filing for bankruptcy. When faced with both of these experiences at the same time, it is important that the right choice be made as to which process to file for first.

According to The Balance, there may be some clear advantages for people who are able to file for bankruptcy before they initiate their divorce proceedings. One benefit is that a married couple will have larger exemption amounts that may allow them to keep more of their assets than if they filed Chapter 7 bankruptcies separately after getting divorced. An exemption identifies the value of an item that a filer is allowed to keep versus have liquidated during a Chapter 7.