Bankruptcy Information

Bankruptcy rising among seniors

September 21, 2008 – 8:39 pm

Swamped by debt and rising medical bills, elderly Americans have been seeking bankruptcy-court protection at sharply faster rates than other adults, a study to be released Tuesday indicates.
From 1991 to 2007, the rate of personal bankruptcy filings among those ages 65 or older jumped by 150%, according to AARP, which will release the new research from the Consumer Bankruptcy Project. The most startling rise occurred among those ages 75 to 84, whose rate soared 433%.

The study did not address the specific reasons behind the trend. But experts say medical bills have played a major role in the debt that has forced many elderly Americans into bankruptcy proceedings.

“Health care is a big issue for the elderly,” says George Gaberlavage, director of consumer and state affairs at the AARP Public Policy Institute. “And out-of-pocket expenses have been going up.”

As a result, Gaberlavage says he thinks health care is the single biggest cause of the rise in filings.

During the same 1991-2007 period, bankruptcy filings by younger Americans actually declined.

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UAW Calls on Plastech Asset Buyer to Honor Labor Deal

June 14, 2008 – 10:45 am

The United Auto Workers, representing nearly 3,000 workers of bankrupt auto supplier Plastech Engineered Products Inc., is one of more than a dozen parties that filed objections Wednesday in response to Plastech’s bid for court approval of a plan to sell off key assets, Bankruptcy Law360 reported yesterday. The United Auto Workers’ conditional objection asks Bankruptcy Judge Phillip J. Shefferly not to approve the proposed sale of Plastech’s interiors and exteriors businesses unless the purchaser assumes Plastech’s obligations under a previous collective bargaining pact or otherwise comes to terms with the union. In addition, the UAW has reached an understanding with Johnson Controls Inc., which owns and controls the entity that would pick up Plastech’s interiors business as well as the UAW-represented exteriors plant in Lansing, Mich., under the proposed sale, according to the motion.

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Foreclosures Surge

June 14, 2008 – 10:17 am

Foreclosure Filings Surge 48 Percent in May
RealtyTrac Inc. reported that 261,255 homes nationwide received at least one foreclosure-related filing in May, up 48 percent from 176,137 in the same month last year and up 7 percent from April, the Associated Press reported today. One in every 483 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing in May, the highest number since RealtyTrac started the report in 2005 and the second-straight monthly record. Foreclosure filings increased from a year earlier in all but 10 states. Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida and Michigan had the highest statewide foreclosure rates. Nearly 74,000 properties were repossessed by lenders nationwide in May, while more than 58,000 received default notices, the company said.

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