Alabama's Jefferson County Bankruptcy Filing Would Double The Filing By Orange County California

01-Aug-2011 When debt becomes unmanageable the idea of bankruptcy may begin to cross your mind. You have the opportunity to liquidate your assets and be completely discharged of debt with chapter 7 Chicago. Or if you decide you want to try and keep your assets you can file chapter 13 Chicago and organize a payment plan schedule for a few years before being discharged of your debts.

When most of us think of filing for bankruptcy we think of doing it as an individual or a business. It is hard to imagine the county we live in needing to file for bankruptcy. However that is exactly what is happening in Jefferson County.

It was reported in Yahoo! News that the majority of the county's debts are from significant costs surrounding work that needed to be done to the sewer system in the county. Besides the sewer project some of the debts came from miscellaneous projects including school construction.

If Jefferson County cannot reach a settlement agreement with the debtors they will file for municipal bankruptcy for their $4.1 billion in debts. This would be a record breaking bankruptcy filing more than doubling the previous record bankruptcy of Orange County California. Orange County filed municipal bankruptcy for debts of $1.7 billion in 1994.

Just like most individuals Alabama County is trying to avoid bankruptcy through debt settlement costs. They have promised to only settle if the impact will not result in a significant increase in sewer costs or tax increases for residents.

Settling costs through municipal bankruptcy is very similar to loan modification for someone trying to stop foreclosure or avoid chapter 7 Chicago. If the debts that you've accrued are more than you are able to pay it is time to consider other options before you lose everything though bankruptcy or foreclosure. Creditors handling loans to individuals, businesses or even a county have one thing in common. They do not want you to file for bankruptcy. Even if they receive a payout from the liquidation of your assets it will not be as much as they would have received if you paid your debts and interest in full. Because of this most lenders are open to modifying the loan agreement so that it becomes possible for you to continue making payments.

Common types of loan modification are a fixed or lowered interest rate, decrease in principal balance or a break in payments allowing the debtor to get back on their feet financially. Yahoo! News reported that Jefferson County is hoping to have $1 billion of their sewer debt forgiven.

It is important to explore all your options before resorting to chapter 7 Chicago or foreclosing on your home. However your Chicago bankruptcy lawyers would insist that it's equally important to be realistic about what you can afford. There is no point in modifying a loan if you will still be struggling to pay it at the decreased amount.

Chang and Carlin
The content found on the Chang & Carlin site is not legal advice and is purely for informational purposes. The information contained herein is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney and does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you are interested in obtaining information about chapter 7 bankruptcy, chapter 13 bankruptcy, foreclosure services, real estate legal services, you are encouraged to call our law firm at 866-790-8601 or Request a Free Legal Evaluation. Chang and Carlin serves clients in Chicago, Schaumburg, Joliet, Warrenville, Waukegan, Illinois.