Texas Bankruptcy Lawyer & Attorney : Fears Nachawati law Firm : Chapter 7, Chapter 13, Consumer Bankrutpcy : Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, San Antonio

It may not make you feel better while pumping gas, but another sign of Houston's economic strength can be found in that barometer of financial weakness: bankruptcies.

The Houston Chronicle reports, while the rest of the country is experiencing a nearly one-third increase in personal and business bankruptcies, Houston's numbers remain stable.

Nationwide, the number of bankruptcies nearly reached 1 million for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2008, the U.S. Courts office announced Wednesday. The 967,831 personal and business bankruptcies represent a 28.9 percent increase over the year ending in June 2007.

In the U.S. Courts for the Southern District of Texas, the federal division that includes Houston, Galveston, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley, the case filings haven't changed significantly, however.

"Ours are kind of a flat line, about 1,000 a month," said David Bradley, chief deputy clerk for the Houston area district.

By some measures, there even is a dip in the personal bankruptcy filings in the federal district that includes Houston.

U.S. Courts statistics for the district show that while business bankruptcies in the first quarter of 2008 inched up to 168 from 155 in the same period in 2007, personal bankruptcies dropped from 2,927 in 2007 to 2,764 in the first quarter of 2008.

Overall, in the first six months of 2008, there were 6,299 bankruptcies filed in the Houston district. That was about 5 percent fewer than the 6,658 cases filed in the last six months of 2007.

"Occasionally, it happens that you have a district that will be at odds with the national trend," said Jack Williams, resident scholar at the education and research group the American Bankruptcy Institute in Alexandria, Va. "It may be an anomaly, but your local industry still depends on the energy sector and sectors tied with it and they have done reasonably well."

Williams said by the end of the year there could be 1.2 million personal and business bankruptcies filed nationwide, compared with 800,000 in 2007. He expects it to get worse.

"It's a bad sign that Chapter 13s are down. That's the bankruptcy where you have a plan to pay some money back over three or five years. And Chapter 7s are up. That's where there is no such plan," he said.

Lydia Protopapas, a Houston bankruptcy lawyer who works for the national firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, said there has been a deluge of work for her firm in the last six months, but most of it is outside the Houston area.

"We've seen distress in a lot of different industries and, in particular, in retail and home building," she said.

Protopapas said companies that file for bankruptcy can choose where to file, especially if they have assets nationwide. She said Houston area courts may lose out to Delaware and New York, where judges have developed special expertise.

Johnie Patterson, a Houston lawyer who represents consumers in bankruptcy, said he assumes the nationwide trend is driven in part by home foreclosures.

"But our housing market is not nearly so bad," he said. "Oil prices are so high and we have so much oil money that it insulates us."

 

 Frecuentemente una persona o el miembro de familia sufren una enfermedad catastrófica que conduce a cuentas médicas que no son cubiertas por el seguro, la pérdida de trabajo, el divorcio, y la alta deuda de tarjeta de crédito. La clasificación de un capítulo 7 (a veces mencionaba " una clasificación de liquidación ") la bancarrota puede ser una solución para usted. No sólo va a esto ayudarle de las cantidades astronómicas de deuda, esto podría ayudar a aumentar su cuenta de crédito.

Aquí están algunos caminos que la Bancarrota del Capítulo 7 puede ayudar a aumentar su cuenta de crédito y ayudarle a recuperar su vida de nuevo:

• Dependiendo(Según) su diligencia prevista y capacidad de procurar el nuevo crédito, su cuenta de credito puede aumentar a los 600 o más alto en un período corto de tiempo, después de la clasificación de la Bancarrota del Capítulo 7 es posible.
• Usted puede solicitar crédito inmediatamente después de que su bancarrota es terminada.
• Usted puede conseguir un nuevo préstamo de vehículo en un mes después de que su bancarrota es terminada.
• Si usted tiene el ingreso, usted puede tener el derecho de una hipoteca 2 años después de que su bancarrota es terminada
• En comprando a una nueva casa, vehículo, o consiguiendo nuevas tarjetas de crédito, su cuenta de crédito puede elevarse en un período corto de tiempo.
• Recuerde que la clasificación de una Bancarrota del Capítulo 7 puede ayudar a salir de deuda libre y dejarle comenzar otra vez con un borrón. Para la ayuda legal y más información por favor póngase en contacto con los abogados y los consejeros de Fears & Nachawati.

Fears & Nachawati
Abogados y Consejeros
4925 Greenville Avenue
Suite 715
Dallas, Texas 75206
Phone: (214) 890.0711
mn@fnlawfirm.com
* Oficina Principal
*Se Habla Espanol
 

Oftentimes a person or family member suffers a catastrophic illness that leads to mounting medical bills not covered by insurance, job loss, divorce, and high credit card debt. Filing a chapter 7 (sometimes referred to as a “liquidation filing”) bankruptcy can be a solution for you. Not only will it help you out of the astronomical amounts of debt, it could help increase your credit score.
Here are some ways that Chapter 7 Bankruptcy may help increase your credit score and help you get your life back on track:
• Depending on your due diligence and ability to procure new credit, being back in the 600 range or higher in a short period of time after filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is possible.
• You can apply for credit immediately after your bankruptcy is over.
• You can get a new vehicle loan as soon as a month after your bankruptcy is over.
• If you have the income, you may qualify for a mortgage 2 years after your bankruptcy is over.
• By buying a new home, vehicle, or getting new credit cards, your credit score may rise in a short period of time.
Remember that filing a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy can help get you debt free and let you start again with a clean slate. For legal assistance and more information please contact the attorneys and counselors of Fears & Nachawati.
Fears and Nachawati Attorneys & Counselors
4925 Greenville Avenue
Suite 715
Dallas, Texas 75206
Phone: (214) 890.0711
fears@fnlawfirm.com
*Principal Office
*Se Habla Espanol
 

La subida de clasificaciones de bancarrota ha aumentado en la area de Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex debido a, la pérdida de trabajo, el divorcio, cuentas (proyectos de la ley) médicas, inhabilidad, el robo de identidad, o simplemente la economía que afrontamos hoy. Si usted afronta la ejecución, la deuda directa, la reposesión, y la bancarrota de sentido es la única salida se ponen en contacto con los abogados en Fears & Nachawati. La bancarrota puede ser agotadora y/o asustadiza, una decisión muy personal de hacer y le podemos ayudar:


" El capítulo 7 Bancarrota: (liquidación) caso de activo para liquidar a los deudores individuales. Si usted tiene poca característica (propiedad) y no puede hacer su pagos básicos podría ser la petición Bancarrota del Capítulo 7 de derecha para usted. Un fideicomisario es designado quien recoge toda la característica (propiedad) no exenta, vende el activo y distribuye beneficios de esta venta para asignar a acreedores apropiados. El capítulo 7 es diferente de otras clasificaciones de bancarrota porque el deudor no tiene que hacer un pago al fideicomisario.

" El capítulo 13 Bancarrota: (para individuos con el ingreso regular) la Bancarrota del Capítulo 13 puede ayudar a ajustar la deuda y reducciones. Una persona puede tener reembolsos incluso si los acreedores discrepan, guarde(mantenga) su característica(propiedad), y puede tener protección de 3-5 años de acreedores.


Por favor póngase en contacto con los abogados de Fears & Nachawati para más detalles. Ellos ayudarán a usted con una reunión confidencial, y le dirán si la bancarrota es la opción que correcta para useted.

Fears and Nachawati Attorneys & Counselors
4925 Greenville Avenue
Suite 715
Dallas, Texas 75206
Phone: (214) 890.0711
mn@fnlawfirm.com
* Oficina principal
*Se Habla Espanol

The rise of bankruptcy filings have increased in Dallas/ Fort Worth Metroplex due to job loss, divorce, medical bills, disability, identity theft, and the difficult economy we are facing today. If you are facing foreclosure, huge amounts of debt, repossession, bankruptcy may be the only realistic way out. Our lawyers are here to help. Contact the lawyers at Fears & Nachawati to find out about getting rid of debt and getting a fresh start.

The most common types of bankruptcy are set forth below:
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: (Sometimes referred to as a “Total Liquidation”) If you have little property and can’t make your basic minimum credit card payments, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy might be the right option for you. Chapter 7 is different from other bankruptcy filings because the debtor does not typically need to make any further payments to creditors such as credit card companies once the bankruptcy court issues a bankruptcy discharge letter.
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: (Referred to as a “reorganization”) Chapter 13 Bankruptcy can help to adjust debt and obtain reduction or relief on secured debt such as a house that may be in foreclosure. Even if your creditors disagree, under Ch. 13, people typically are allowed to retain their secured property while making reasonable payments to creditors that are oftentimes much lower than the original amount owed.
Please contact the attorneys of Fears & Nachawati for more details. They will provide you with general legal information and consult with you concerning whether bankruptcy is the right choice for you.
Fears and Nachawati Attorneys & Counselors
4925 Greenville Avenue
Suite 715
Dallas, Texas 75206
Phone: (214) 890.0711
fears@fnlawfirm.com
*Principal Office
*Se Habla Espanol

Dallas Morning News Reported Today, All the publicity about so-called rescue plans to help troubled homeowners isn't having an impact so far on Dallas-Fort Worth foreclosures.

The number of homes facing foreclosure in the area next month is up almost 40 percent from a year ago.
More than 4,400 homes are scheduled to be sold at foreclosure auction in the four-county area on the first Tuesday in May, according to statistics released Thursday from Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service.

"All these plans and different things the government and others are talking about evidently are still in the pipeline because it certainly hasn't helped," said George Roddy, president of the firm that tracks foreclosures in almost a dozen counties.

Mr. Roddy said the number of D-FW foreclosure postings is the second-highest on record.

"Back in February, we were over 5,000," he said. "But the percentage gain this year is unbelievable when you consider that last year was unbelievable."

Almost 43,000 homes were posted for foreclosure here in 2007 – a record and up 10 percent from 2006.

The number of home foreclosure postings has risen by 24 percent from the first five months of 2007.

The biggest increases for May's foreclosure sales are in Rockwall and Denton counties. The number of homes facing forced sale by lenders in Rockwall County is double what it was a year ago. And in Denton County, foreclosure postings are up almost 50 percent from May 2007.

Dallas and Tarrant counties both have a 39 percent jump in postings.

Between 50 percent and 60 percent of the monthly foreclosure postings result in an actual forced sale of the property. In some cases, the sales are delayed, or the borrower reaches a new agreement regarding the debt.

Many of the home loans that are in default are subprime mortgages that have burdened borrowers with rising payments.

But Mr. Roddy said current economic conditions are also playing a part in the spike in foreclosures.

"The whole economic issue is sad," he said. "You've had big increases in the prices of gasoline and food, and it's one thing after another that's hitting homeowners."

Consumer advocates say the foreclosure situation would be even worse without many programs that have been set up to help troubled borrowers.

But they admit that the scale of the situation is overwhelming.

"There is no one silver bullet to take care of the problems," said Todd Mark, vice president of education at Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Dallas. "We are getting a lot of people calling who are many months behind in their mortgages."

Many of the borrowers have just stretched too far, Mr. Mark said.

"Somebody is always living beyond their means – maybe only by $100 or $200 a month," he said.

Rising food and energy costs are adding to consumer woes.

"We see people already stretched to the limit, and they can't handle that 25-cent jump in gas prices," Mr. Mark said. "And it's cheaper to drink gasoline than it is milk right now.

"All these factors are creating a perfect storm for consumers."

He said he doesn't expect to see much change in home foreclosures over the next 18 to 24 months.

Merrill Lynch & Co (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Thursday posted a quarterly loss of $2 billion and said it planned to cut 2,900 jobs after recording more than $9.5 billion in write-downs and losses on subprime mortgages and other risky assets.

The results were worse than analysts' gloomy expectations, and shares of the world's largest brokerage fell more than 2 percent in premarket trading. Chief Executive John Thain is trying to turn the company around as it struggles with the aftermath of bad bets on subprime mortgages and repackaged debt. He is increasing the investment bank's business in emerging markets and cutting costs to help offset write-downs.

Merrill Lynch reported losses, write-downs and reserve increases of $1.5 billion on collateralized debt obligations, $925 million on loans financing leveraged buyouts, $3.5 billion on an investment portfolio, more than $800 million on residential mortgages, and $3 billion for exposure to bond insurers.

Merrill Lynch's first-quarter net loss was $1.96 billion, compared with a year-earlier profit of $2.16 billion.
Including preferred stock dividends, the loss was $2.14 billion, or $2.19 per share, and compared with a profit of $2.11 billion, or $2.26 a share, a year earlier.
The loss from continuing operations was $2.20 per share, wider than the analysts' average forecast of $1.96, according to Reuters Estimates.

Net revenue declined 69 percent to $2.93 billion. Analysts expected $3.35 billion.

Dallas News Reported - Denver-based Frontier Airlines Inc. became the fourth U.S. airline in less than a month to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy papers Friday, joining Aloha Airlines Inc., ATA Airlines Inc. and Skybus Airlines Inc.

However, Frontier will continue flying its airplanes, the carrier said, unlike the other three which have grounded their aircraft and ceased operations.

Frontier blamed an unnamed credit card company that had tried to “substantially increase” the amount of customer receipts the credit card company wanted to hold back and keep in reserve in case the airline ran into trouble.

The action, which was to begin Friday, “threatened to severely impact Frontier’s liquidity,” the carrier said.

"Frontier is committed to delivering exceptional customer service and we intend to continue delivering on that promise with normal operations throughout our reorganization process," Frontier president and chief executive Sean Menke said in a statement.

"To be clear, we filed for very different reasons than those of other recent carriers, and our customers and employees can be confident that we intend to keep on flying and providing outstanding service and products,” he said.

Mr. Menke said Frontier “has continued to perform relatively well in this difficult environment, and contrary to the trend, we have not seen a decrease in consumer demand, as demonstrated by our record traffic and revenue in March.”

The credit card holdback “would have made it impossible for us to continue normal operations,” he said. The bankruptcy filing will prevent the card company from increasing the holdback, Mr. Menke said.

“We are prepared to litigate this issue is necessary,” he said.

From Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Frontier flies to Denver and Mazatlan, Mexico.

Washington Mutual Inc, the largest U.S. savings and loan, said on Tuesday it obtained a $7 billion capital injection from private equity firm TPG Inc and other investors, but that mortgage problems will lead to a $1.1 billion quarterly loss and the elimination of 3,000 jobs.

The thrift also plans to close its 186 stand-alone home loan offices and stop offering home loans through brokers. It will instead offer mortgages through its retail branches, where some of the affected mortgage employees will be offered jobs, spokesman Derek Aney said. WaMu, as the thrift is known, said it expects a first-quarter loss of $1.40 per share, more than twice the 51 cents that analysts on average expected.

The Seattle-based thrift expects to set aside $3.5 billion in the quarter for loan losses, nearly twice what it previously projected, and said net charge-offs will total $1.4 billion. WaMu will also reduce its quarterly dividend per share to 1 cent from 15 cents, saving $490 million a year. The cut is the second in four months.

"These companies are getting serious," said James McGlynn, a portfolio manager at Summit Investment Partners in Southlake, Texas. "They are bringing in capital, (and) getting out of businesses where they weren't efficient. It just seems like they are getting their comeuppance." Shares of WaMu fell 73 cents, or 5.6 percent, to $12.39 in morning trading. They had risen 29 percent on Monday, after news of the thrift's plans to raise $5 billion first surfaced.

WaMu joined more than a dozen commercial and investment banks to seek cash from outside investors in the last year, following more than $200 billion of write-downs and credit losses tied to the nation's housing and credit crisis.

Senate leaders announced an agreement Wednesday on legislation to ease the slumping housing market and help millions of families threatened by foreclosure.

The scaled-back proposal released by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and GOP Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky contains an amalgam of ideas aimed at boosting demand for housing and helping homeowners saddled with subprime mortgages avoid foreclosure. For instance, the plan contains $4 billion in grants to local governments to buy and refurbish foreclosed homes, new authority for states to issue bonds to be used to refinance subprime mortgages and a $7,000 tax credit for people buying new homes or properties in foreclosure.

"It is a robust package," Reid said. "This is good news for the American people."

But economists across the political spectrum sounded skeptical that the measure would have much practical effect to ease the wrenching crisis in the housing market and the wave of foreclosures spreading across the country. "They're good steps, but they're small steps and certainly not big enough steps to solve the problem," said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com. "I don't think it's going to be enough to solve the housing problem, at least not in 2008."

Reid did not release details, but staff aides described a still-being-drafted measure containing several elements from a bill Democrats have touted for weeks. The measure also contains a provision dropped from February's stimulus measure that would permit homebuilders and other money-losing businesses to reclaim previously paid taxes, new disclosure requirements aimed at preventing unsophisticated borrowers from being duped by mortgage brokers, and additional money to provide counseling to people threatened with foreclosure and help them in negotiating with their lenders.

Republicans forced Democrats to drop efforts that Zandi and other economists said might have proven more effective in alleviating the crisis, including a controversial plan opposed by banks and their GOP allies to change bankruptcy laws to help borrowers trapped in subprime mortgages keep their homes. Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., was forced to leave out of the bill a plan to have the Federal Housing Administration guarantee perhaps $400 billion worth of refinanced loans if lenders reduce loan amounts to reflect reduced home values.

The measure will contain a broader rewrite of the FHA that reduces down payments on FHA-insured loans and raises the dollar limit on mortgages that FHA can insure. "This package addresses the core issues of this crisis, including foreclosure mitigation, mortgage counseling, FHA modernization and homeowner tax credits, among other provisions," Reid and McConnell said in a joint statement. Reid said he hoped the measure could quickly pass, though it faces a flurry of amendments from senators in both parties.

According to The Houston Chronicle, employers slashed 80,000 jobs in March, the most in five years and the third straight month of losses. At the same time, the national unemployment rate rose from 4.8 percent to 5.1 percent, the clearest signal yet that the economy might already be shrinking. The new snapshot of the job market, released by the Labor Department today, underscored the damage that a trio of crises —in the housing, credit and financial sectors — has inflicted on companies, jobseekers and the economy as a whole.

"The labor market has indeed turned south," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. "That was the one last bastion of hope to stay out of a recession. Now the question is how deep and how long will it last?"

The unemployment rate was the highest since September 2005, when significant job losses followed the devastating blows of Gulf Coast hurricanes. Job losses were widespread in March. Construction, manufacturing, retailing, financial services and various business services all racked up losses. That overwhelmed gains elsewhere, including in education and health care, leisure and hospitality as well as in government. The new employment figures were much weaker than economists were expecting. They were anticipating a drop of 50,000 payroll jobs and the unemployment rate to rise to 5 percent.

The 5.1 percent rate is relatively modest by historical standards, but was nonetheless the highest in 2 1/2 years.

Job cuts in both January and February turned out to be even deeper. Employers got rid of 76,000 in each month. The elimination of 80,000 jobs in March was the most since March 2003, when the labor market was still struggling to recover from the 2001 recession. The economy is suffering the effects of a housing collapse, a credit crunch and a financial system in turmoil. That's causing people and businesses to hunker down, crimping spending, capital investment and hiring. Those things in turn further weaken the economy in what has become a vicious cycle.

For the first time, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledged Wednesday that the country could be heading toward a recession, saying federal policymakers are "fighting against the wind" in combating it. Many other economists and the public believe the recession already has arrived.

Bernanke wouldn't tip his hand about the Fed's next move. However, many economists believe the central bank will lower interest rates again when they meet later this month. The Fed has taken a number of extraordinary actions recently — slashing interest rates, providing financial backing to JP Morgan's takeover of troubled Bear Stearns and opening an emergency lending program for big investment houses. All the actions are ultimately aimed at limiting damage to the national economy.

With a public on edge, Congress, the White House and presidential contenders are scrambling to come up with their own relief plans even as they engage in a political blame game.

With the pace of hiring slowing down, the number of unemployed people increased to 7.8 million in March; workers with jobs saw only modest wage gains at the same time.

Average hourly earnings for jobholders rose to $17.86 in March, a 0.3 percent increase from the previous month. That matched economists' forecasts. Over the past 12 months, wages grew 3.6 percent. With lofty energy and food prices, workers may feel like their paychecks are shrinking.
Many analysts believe the economy shrank in the first three months of this year and could still be ebbing now. The government will release its estimate of first-quarter economic growth later this month. Under one rough rule, if the economy contracts for six straight months it is considered in a recession.

Bernanke, however, has said he is hopeful the economy will improve in the second half of this year, helped by the government's $168 billion stimulus package of tax rebates for people and tax breaks for businesses, as well as the Fed's rate reductions.

Still, even Bernanke predicted this week that the unemployment rate would rise in the months ahead. Some analysts say it could climb to 5.5 percent or higher by year's end.

When she was laid off in February, Patricia Guerrero was making $70,000 a year. Weeks later, with bills piling up and in need of food for her family, this middle-class mother did something she never thought she would do: She went to a food bank.  It was Good Friday, and a woman helping her offered to pay her utility bill.

"It brought tears to my eyes, and I sat there and I cried. I was like, 'This is really where I'm at?' " she told CNN. "I go 'no way;' [but] this is true. This is reality. This is the stuff you see on TV. It was hard. It was very hard."

Guerrero is estranged from her husband and raising her two young children. She's already burned through her savings to help make ends meet, and is drawing unemployment checks. She has had to take extreme measures to pay for her interest-only mortgage of $2,500 a month. In fact, her mother moved in with her to help pay the bills.

Guerrero even applied for food stamps, but was denied.
"I never used the system. I've been working since I was 15-and-a-half. I needed it now and it turned me down," she said.

Stories like Guerrero's are becoming more common as middle-class Americans feel the pinch of an economic downturn, rising gas prices and a housing crunch, especially in a state like California that has been rocked by foreclosures. On Wednesday, a key government report on the battered housing market found new home sales fell to their lowest level in 13 years in February, suggesting the nation's housing market is still struggling.

Americans also have been attending in large numbers foreclosure fairs where mortgage lenders, financial planners and counselors offer tips to hard-hit homeowners.

"Our economy is struggling, and families in the 'Inland Empire' and across the nation are hurting," California Rep. Joe Baca said, referring to an area of Southern California in his district.

"Our housing market is in a state of crisis due to rampant abuses of sub-prime lending, and unemployment is rising. At the same time, the cost of necessities such as gas, healthcare, and education continue to rise."
Daryl Brock, the executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank in California's San Bernardino and Riverside counties, said his organization supplies food to more than 400 charities in metro Los Angeles, from homeless shelters to soup kitchens to an array of food banks. While the majority of people they help are working poor families, he said they have seen some major changes.

In the last 12 to 18 months, Brock said, the agencies he supplies have begun seeing more middle-class families coming to their doors.

"Our agencies have said there is an increasing number of people coming to them for help," Brock told CNN by phone. "Their impression was that these were not people they normally would have seen before. They seemed to be better dressed. They seemed to have better cars and yet they seemed to be in crisis mode."

He added, "The only thing they can do is give us anecdotal evidence that they think it's because of the sub-prime mortgage meltdown and the housing crisis." See recent trends of foreclosure filings »

A former loan processor, Guerrero knows all about that, although so far she has been able keep her house. She used her tax refund to help pay many of her bills for the first two months, but now that money's gone. She says she's now in a middle-class "no-man's-land."

"It just happened so fast. It happened in a matter of -- what -- two months," she said.

She's eager to get back to work and to hold onto her home until the market turns. But for this single mom, every day it becomes harder to hang on.

"It's just depressing," she said. "For me, I just don't want to get out of bed, but I have to. That's my hardest thing. I have to