Atlanta Bankruptcy Law Blog

Just last week, we wrote about the personal bankruptcy filing of Nadya Suleman, the woman who gained notoriety (as well as the unfortunate nickname of 'Octomom') after giving birth to octuplets in 2009. Now, it appears that Suleman's Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition has been dismissed after the mother of 14 reportedly failed to file required documents with the bankruptcy court overseeing her case.

Suleman's failure to comply with the requirements of her case will likely have far-reaching effects on her finances and her large family. With the dismissal of her bankruptcy petition, her creditors are once again free to go after her and seek the payment of various debts. Suleman is estimated to owe between $500,000 and $1 million to nearly two dozen creditors ranging from her electric and gas companies to the schools attended by her children.

If you're dealing with debt, you have probably had this thought: "If only I had more money, all of my debt problems would disappear." However, as evidenced by the many movie stars, professional athletes and musicians who have filed for bankruptcy, that is not necessarily the case.

Often, debt and bankruptcy are the result of circumstances that are completely out of the debtor's control. Other times, however, they are the product of excessive spending and poor money management. Unfortunately, the latter seems to be the reason that many of the following legendary music stars have filed for bankruptcy.

One of the most common reasons that Georgia residents resist filing for bankruptcy is the fear of what such a filing will do to their credit score. And that fear is not unfounded: bankruptcy generally causes your credit to drop, especially if it is a Chapter 7 filing which involves the discharge of your unsecured debts.

However, what many people fail to realize is that a credit score decrease is not permanent by any means. While it may take time for your credit to recover, it will happen eventually. In the meantime, there are a few things you can do to boost your credit and ensure that you are spending responsibly in the wake of your bankruptcy.

Nadya Suleman, the woman who became famous after she gave eight additional siblings to her six children by having octuplets in 2009, has reportedly filed for bankruptcy.

In her Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, the mother of 14 stated that she has just $50,000 in assets and $1 million in debt - more than 20 times as much as the value of her assets. This reportedly includes $30,000 in back rent owed to her landlord, who says that he has fallen behind in mortgage payments as a result of Suleman's failure to make rent.

Despite the efforts of the federal government to reduce the availability of credit cards to college students, credit card use has skyrocketed among young people in Gainesville and across the state and country. And according to a recent study, members of this demographic are severely lacking in knowledge about credit cards and the impact of credit card debt on their financial future.

In 2004, the average college student had just under $950 in credit card debt, according to the study. By 2009, that number skyrocketed to more than $4,000. In 2009, the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act was passed, making it more difficult for credit card companies to distribute to target college students. However, the damage may already have been done.

In news reports and even on our Atlanta bankruptcy blog, it often seems that the only people who file for bankruptcy or let their home go into foreclosure are people who are in relative poverty or are dealing with the loss of a job, medical expenses or some other costly circumstance. However, that is not the case. The economy has had a negative impact on people with a wide range of financial means, from the entry-level office worker who is laid off during downsizing to a federal judge who can no longer keep up with his mounting debt.

The latter situation is actually taking place right now in California, where federal district judge Otis Wright II has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy along with his wife. According to the court filing, the couple was forced to file for bankruptcy after the judge's wife's business began to suffer during the economic recession and its aftermath.

In a recent survey of bankruptcy lawyers in Georgia and throughout the U.S., more than 80 percent of respondents stated that they have seen an increase in clients with student loan debt in recent years. However, this growing number of student loan debtors are unlikely to garner any significant relief from the bankruptcy process, due to a federal law that prevents the discharge of student loan debt in bankruptcy.

In recent weeks, student loans have been the focus of much attention at a national level, with President Obama calling for Congress to halt a scheduled doubling of the interest rate on federal Stafford student loans. Regardless of whether this passes, it will have no effect on older borrowers who are deep in debt and unable to make their monthly payments.

In recent years, there have been countless reports on the effects of the foreclosure crisis on homeowners and renters, especially those in Georgia and the other hardest-hit states. However, few reports have focused on one of the largest and most seriously-affected groups of people: the children who are forced to move out of a home or rental property after it is foreclosed upon and repossessed.

According to the study from First Focus, a bipartisan family advocacy group, about 2.3 million U.S. children have lived in homes lost to foreclosure since the housing crisis began nearly five years ago. In addition, about 3 million children currently live in homes that are seriously delinquent on mortgage loans or that are already in the foreclosure process, placing them at a high risk of repossession. Another 3 million lived in rental properties that were lost to foreclosure, or currently live in rental homes that are at risk of being repossessed.