BANKRUPTCY AND OLDER AMERICANS

OLDER AMERICANS GREATLY INCREASING BANKRUPTCY FILINGS

A recent New York Times article highlighted an area of concern in bankruptcy that our office has been seeing for many years – older individuals filing bankruptcy at a greatly increased rate:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/05/business/bankruptcy-older-americans.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FBankruptcies&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection

As in the article, our office has been seeing an increasing number of older bankruptcy filers. The general implication of the article is that the loss of a social safety net has disproportionately impacted older Americans through increased medical, housing and associated costs.

What our office sees is that older Americans are much more likely to have substantially lower income than a younger household with two employed individuals both contributing to expenses. While medical expenses may be higher for an older household, the remaining expenses are the generally the same for households of all ages. However, retirement incomes from a pension or SSI are generally much lower than a working wage paid to younger workers.

When incomes drop you begin to see the accumulation of consumer debt to maintain normal living expenses. The groceries start to go on credit cards, the car repair goes on a credit card and on and on. Eventually, the debt level is not sustainable with the limited income available. The same phenomenon is present in divorced households – same expenses, but only one income where there used to be two.
If you or a family member is experiencing financial issues related to loss of income, contact our office for a confidential assessment of whether a bankruptcy filing would be a benefit.

At Mickler & Mickler, we personally attend court hearings on an almost daily basis. We keep up with the latest developments in bankruptcy law and related areas. We can provide you the type of bankruptcy advice which will allow you to make the best financial decision for your situation. Please feel free to contact our office with any bankruptcy related questions at 904-725-0822 or bkmickler@planlaw.com

Bryan K. Mickler