Phoenix Bankruptcy Attorney Blog

While many bankruptcies are caused largely by job loss, divorce, and other direct financial problems, more and more bankruptcies are being caused by insurmountable medical bills of the debtor or his/her family members.

In many of these medical bankruptcies, the debtor had medical insurance, but the large deductibles and co-pays, the uninsured expenses, and in many cases the 20% that the insured is required to pay is simply more than the debtor can afford to pay.

In one Harvard study, the conclusion was drawn that 62 percent of bankruptcies had medical bills as a contributing factor in 2007.

If you are overwhelmed by medical debts or other debts, please call us to schedule a free consumer bankruptcy consultation with an attorney, or to reserve your seat at one of our upcoming free bankruptcy seminars around Arizona. To learn more visit us at www.FreeArizonaBankruptcySeminar.com.

To view the New York Times Article, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/health/policy/25bankruptcy.html?_r=1&th&emc=th.

Consumers and potential clients should proceed carefully when seeking out their credit reports.  Many consumers, having heard the extensive advertisements for “Free  Credit Report .Com” are lured to that site. 

One must ask his/her self -  if the site is spending over fifty million dollars ($50,000,000.00) per year to advertise, are they really giving away their credit reports for free- just to help you out? 

Much of the confusion arises because the federal government (the F.T.C.) has mandated that consumers be allowed to access their credit report for free at least once every 12 months.  As there are three major credit reporting agencies, a smart consumer can get a free credit report from one of the major credit reporting agencies every four months. 

The government’s website for a truly free credit report is:  www.annualcreditreport.com.  For more information regarding the battle between the F.T.C. and sites that mislead consumers about a free credit report, see the New York Times article from  November 2, 2009, by Ron Lieber, entitled:  “A Free Credit Score Followed by a Monthly Bill” at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/your-money/credit-scores/03scores.html?th&emc=th. 

For more information visit our websites at www.mcguiregardner.com and www.bankruptcylawyeraz.com.  For a list of upcoming seminars, visit www.freearizonabankruptcyseminar.com.