This economy is so bad that even the Los Angeles Dodgers have filed for bankruptcy (click here to read an article on Yahoo about this bankruptcy filing). Frank McCourt, owner of the Dodgers, is currently embroiled in a bitter divorce proceeding. Many speculate that the his divorce is a major factor in causing this bankruptcy filing. The team has reported that it was on the verge of running out of cash before the bankruptcy filing. In March of this year, Forbes reported that the Dodgers were the third most valuable team in baseball.
The combined forces of an awful economy and divorce can bring down even some of the most powerful people in our society.
The most common scenario I see where a divorce is the main cause of the bankruptcy are situations where the husband has left the wife for another women. The wife gets left with the house payment and the children. For whatever reason, the child support payments are not enough to cover all the household expenses and the credit card payments. In addition, there is usually some triggering event that pushes the person over the edge. For example, one of the children has some type of accident that forces the mother take two weeks off work to care for her child. While medical insurance covers all of the medical bills, nothing makes up for losing two weeks of wages.
In Georgia, divorce is definitely one of the leading causes of bankruptcy. When you take family who is used to having two incomes supporting the household and split it in half, paying the monthly bills can become impossible. Fortunately for many Georgia consumers, Chapter 13 bankruptcy is an option. In a Chapter 13, you can catch up house payments and car payments while eliminating credit card and medical debts. For those who need to wipe out all of their debts and get a fresh start, Chapter 7 bankruptcy may be an option.
Sometimes, bad things happen that are beyond your control. The best thing you can do is take control of the situation as best you can and explore all of your options.
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3. How much does it cost to file?