Bankruptcy

When P.T. Barnum, the king of curiosities and co-founder of the self-proclaimed “Greatest Show on Earth,” went bankrupt, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote that it showed the gods to be “visible again.” Emerson and many others were pleased that Barnum was in financial trouble because they disapproved of his money-making tactics.

Emerson’s attempt to tie Barnum’s bankruptcy to some sort of moral failure is perhaps fitting given that Barnum built his empire by exploiting racial differences, putting people with disabilities on public display, and committing outright fraud.
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Ina Garten is one of the most popular celebrity chefs in America. People love her recipes, and her positive attitude, which is on full display on Barefoot Contessa, her show on the Food Network. One of the things she has become known for is noting “store-bought is fine” if you can’t, or don’t want, to make a particular ingredient from scratch.

Making things from scratch can be hard. Ina understands that, so she gives her viewers the okay to make things easier on themselves.
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Americans currently owe more than $14 trillion in consumer debt. Of that, $372 billion is at least 90 days late and considered seriously delinquent.
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Filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Alabama can give you the debt relief you need to get a fresh start. However, debtors who file under Chapter 7 must meet income requirements to qualify for a bankruptcy discharge. The bankruptcy discharge is an order from the bankruptcy court that releases your liability for certain debts.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A guy buys a condo on the Gulf Coast because he knows it is a great investment…

I’m going to stop right there because we’ve all heard this one before. Many of us in the Mobile area have even lived this story ourselves. That’s why it is interesting that

“There are two times in a man’s life when he should not speculate: when he can’t afford it and when he can.” -Mark Twain

This quip from Mark Twain, the pen name of author Samuel L. Clemens, was actually a hard-earned lesson. Although Twain married into a wealthy family, and was one of the most successful writers and lecturers of all time, he made such poor business decisions that he was forced to declare

NBA games last 45 minutes. While the clock may stop and start multiple times, the amount of time players are on the court shooting hoops is precisely regulated. Baskets made during a pause in the action, or after the clock runs out, simply do not count.

In the legal world, clock management matters just as much as it does on a basketball court. Debts you accumulate after you file for bankruptcy, even while your case is pending, cannot be forgiven.

The famous 16th-century prophet and mystic Nostradamus is said to have predicted the Great Fire of London, the French Revolution, the rise of both Napoleon and Adolf Hitler, both World Wars, and the nuclear bomb. Conspiracy theorists also say he predicted the 2020 pandemic and economic meltdown.

We’re skeptical. The ability to predict the future is not some rare gift that those with pseudo-magic powers can develop, it’s an impossibility. If humans could predict the future, 2020 would have turned out differently, and bankruptcy lawyers might be out of a job.
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Individuals and families can file for bankruptcy. Businesses can file for bankruptcy. And Read more . . .

When the coronavirus began to spread, few could predict that it would so dramatically impact our lives. We were told it wasn’t that serious. We were told it was like the flu. Then we were told to stay home for weeks on end. Now we are facing Read more . . .

According to AL.com, Alabama residents who contract the coronavirus can expect to rack up hospital bills somewhere in the $20,000 to $240,000 range.
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