You either love them or hate them, but there is no debating the fact that Necco wafers and their Valentine’s Day incarnation — SweetHearts conversation hearts — are iconic. The wafers have been around since the Civil War, and flirting by exchanging the hearts is an Elementary School rite of passage. Both candies are hard to come by these days because the company that manufactured them, the New England Confectionery Company, filed for bankruptcy and liquidated its assets last year.
Spangler Candy Co. and Necco Wafers
The good news is we may not have to wait much longer before store shelves are restocked with those chalky, sweet goodies. Spangler Candy Co. purchased the recipes and the right to make both Necco Wafers and conversation hearts. Founded in 1906, Spangler is the maker of Dum Dums suckers, circus peanuts candy, and some candy canes. They haven’t named an official return date for Necco wafers and hearts yet, but they say it will be soon.
The take-away from all of this is that bankruptcy is difficult, but things have a way of working out in the end. The important thing is to focus on is the long-term and what you want your life to look like after the bankruptcy process concludes.
Many people want a clean slate, so they are going to do what the New England Confectionery Company did and file for the type of bankruptcy that allows them to sell off their assets and leave most of their debts behind. For people, this means filing under Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy code.
Others prefer to salvage assets that are important to them by filing for bankruptcy under Chapter 13. Chapter 13 is a court-supervised debt consolidation/renegotiation/repayment plan. Filing under this chapter stops foreclosure and repossession proceedings, and allows you to catch up on your payments over a 3 to 5 year period. In most cases, you will resume your monthly mortgage payments directly, but consolidate the rest of your debts into one monthly payment that you make to the court. The court then uses that money to repay all or your other creditors. Which one is right for me?
Which chapter is the right chapter for you to file under depends on your long-term goals. Are you ready to really start over? Or do you want to continue living in your current house? Are you prepared to spend 3 to 5 years having your finances carefully monitored by the court system, or would you prefer to get things over with right away?
At Padgett & Robertson, we help people in the Mobile area wrestle with these tough questions and chart a path forward. We understand that filing for bankruptcy was probably not in your plans, and that it can be a very difficult decision to make. We will be there to guide you, and help make sure you are set on the path toward post-bankruptcy success. We will help you be as resilient as the Necco wafer.