Jackson Mississippi Bankruptcy Law Blog

The high and continually rising cost of higher education seems to all but force many people in Mississippi to take out student loans in order to fund their college degrees. In theory, these loans can be very valuable and if a person is able to get a job that pays enough after college, they may be able to repay all of their loan debt. Yet, it seems that many consumers today struggle with many types of debt and student loans are part of that challenge.

For some people, help may be available via bankruptcy but discharging student loans in a bankruptcy is anything but easy or automatic. As explained by U.S. News and World Report, there are three criteria that are evaluated before a person is allowed to include student loans in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. One of these is whether or not the consumer can demonstrate that they have made good faith efforts to make their loan payments.

Despite your best efforts, there may times when circumstances (both within and outside of your control) leave you facing foreclosure on your home in Jackson. If and when this happens, do not fret; you certainly are not alone. Data shared by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation shows that one out of every 200 homes in the U.S. will go into foreclosure. As you weigh your options when facing foreclosure, you may legitimately want to ask yourself whether allowing a foreclosure to occur would be in your best interest. 

The potential damage to your credit rating might prompt you to immediately dismiss this thought. Consider, however, the current state of your credit. If you are at the point of facing foreclosure, there may a strong possibility that other factors are already negatively influencing your credit score. If this is the case, then having your home foreclosed upon may not have as great an impact as it might in other situations. Allowing it to proceed may get you out from underneath your mortgage and allow you to regroup and begin the process of recovering your credit rating. 

If you are one of the lucky people in Mississippi who has health insurance, you know that even this protection does not guarantee that you will be able to afford the care you need if and when you should need it. The cost of health care in the United States is an all-too real concern for the average American and actually can become a source of serious debt and even lead people to the decision to file bankruptcy.

As reported by CNBC, some research evaluated the cost of health care across a total of 11 developed nations including the United States. Other countried included the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, the Netherlands, Denmark and France. Overall it was found that people utilized health care services at a relatively similar rate in these 11 countries. What differed, however, was the cost of that health care.

Nobody likes losing, and for some people in Mississippi, filing for bankruptcy feels like losing. What you are losing, however, are the stress and anxiety that an overwhelming amount of debt brings. What you are gaining is a fresh start, and everyone deserves a new start. It may help you to know that there are many others in the same boat, including plenty of people that have become successful after a bankruptcy. Here is a lighter look at celebrities who have been where you are now and have come through fine on the other side, as you will too.

Business Insider offers several examples of the rich and famous who have gone from “riches-to-rags” then on to more riches. They include actress Kim Basinger, who filed bankruptcy after being sued by a motion picture company for backing out of a film contract in 1993. She has since gone on to star in many movies and even became a model in 2015 at age 60.