The Law of Bankruptcy has been available since the 1800's. The United States does not have a debtors' prison. It is not a system of proving fault, blame or worthiness.
There is no fault nor blame. A person can even have made decisions that a reasonable person would have known were bad; for example, gambling or going to jail for a DUI. But most often that is not the case. But honestly, no one has a crystal ball to predict the future. People believe their business will succeed or they would have never taken the risk. Borrowers (and banks) thought that real estate values would continue to increase. People thought their 'conservative' retirement investments would not ever drop as significantly as they did in 2008 and 2009. If everyone knew the future, they never have put their finances in harm's way. Most people work too hard and would not purposefully make poor decisions.
We are a society that pays its debts. We have learned since we were children to pay for what we take and use: Mom and Dad taught us long ago to not steal the candy. It is how we respect and trust one another. But while you may set goals and be a person who achieves those, for example getting a certain license or whatever it may be, there some things you cannot plan for: a medical crisis, a death, an injury that forever diminishes your ability to earn income, extended unemployment beyond your reserves, a divorce and so on. A person does need to justify his or her financial situation. Sometimes life throws a curve ball and you end up drowning in debt when you had no intention of doing so.
The "why" a person is drowning in debt is not important, nor is "how" it happened. In reality the real question is "what" are your finances as of right now and 'what' are the options to solve or fix the problem? Bankruptcy was created to help debtors manage, eliminate or reorganize their debts under the protection and supervision of the Bankruptcy Court. Therefore, there are times when a person needs a "fresh"start" to continue as a productive member of society. Bankruptcy is not an easy decision, but sometimes it is the best one under the circumstances.
Get relief, protect your family and take back control of your life by giving us a call at (415) 485-5330.
We serve clients through-out Marin, Sonoma, San Francisco, Sacramento and the East Bay.