Not really better off

What some call the "easy way out" is for some people actually the "only way out". Debt forgiveness is a principle that even exists in the scripture. Without the possibility of bankruptcy many people would end up virtual debt slaves for the rest of their lives, due to extreme circumstances that in many cases are no fault of their own. Or which may have been their fault but now they have learned their lesson and are repentant, and bankruptcy is the only way for them to make a fresh start because their debts or circumstances make it impossible for them to pay everything off, no matter how hard they try.

Yes, some people and companies use bankruptcy as a means to take advantage and cheat the system, much like criminals who abuse loopholes and use technicalities to escape punishment. But I'd rather see some people abuse the system than many people suffer by throwing the system out or making it so restrictive that it helps no one.

Mike

Hi Mark,
This is a decent website showing some scripture in regards to bankruptcy. I hope this helps.

http://www.christian-attorney.net/bible_bankruptcy...

CB

I'm Australian... what does "reaffirmed" mean, and why should his attourney get his but kicked?

To clarify it a little further for you Neil, he "reaffirmed" his desire and ability to keep and pay for those cars. In other words, he chose not to include them in the bankruptcy. If he had included them then he couldn't have kept the cars, but neither would he owe anything for them. He should have given up the cars, and his lawyer should have known better.

I understand that people commonly reaffirm their primary residence's mortgage so that they don't lose their house, assuming the mortgage is reasonable and not what is driving them to bankruptcy, and since it could be difficult for them to get a decent mortgage later due to the bankruptcy. But reaffirming a couple of upside down car loans is a serious mistake.

While we are most certainly not proud of it, we too filed bankruptcy. At the time it seemed to be the only way out. As for our vehicle it was not reaffirmed, but was also not taken from us. We were, and had always been, current on our payments and continued making those payments. It was and still is our only means of transportation and I don't know if that had anything to do with not being taken from us. We were told as long as we were never late or mised a payment the bank would rather us keep paying them for it then taking it away and trying to recover the amount of the loan, which of course they wouldn't be able to.