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Nov 2, 2009 8:20 pm US/Eastern
Broward Family Says Bankruptcy Helped Ease Woes
(CBS4)
They're part of a growing "club" they'd rather not be part of.
They're so embarrassed about being forced into filing for bankruptcy protection, they don't want anyone to know who they are.
They're a hard-working Broward family who has spent decades paying their bills and, like so many others, recently got hit by hard times.
Their story may sound familiar, "We ended up borrowing from Peter to pay Paul and it just sort of snowballed to the effect that we were so upside down on our credit card bills and our mortgage that we just weren't able to keep up anymore."
And the problem's getting worse.
Personal bankruptcies in September were up 41 percent over last year. There were more than 1 million filings nationwide.
That's the worst in four years. And 2009 is now expected to see 1.4 million people seeking court protection.
The problem's all the same: Too many bills, salaries that couldn't keep up with it all.
That's what drove our Broward family to recently go to court to protect their remaining assets.
"It turned around so fast and just got behind us. It was ah, some nights, I cried myself to sleep," one family member said.
Personal bankruptcies can still cost thousands of dollars in legal fees for specialized advice.
Financial Planner Lane Jones says the key is recognizing you need help before it's too late. Jones says, "It needs to be the last resort, after credit counseling and other efforts fail. It comes when you finally can't face the magnitude of debt you're facing."
Still, the Broward family CBS4 recently interviewed found bankruptcy is not solving all their money problems. They still face tough times.
"Bankruptcy doesn't make all your bills stop period. It helped us get a clean slate in some of the previous debt but it doesn't make all your bills go away. I am still terrified for the future."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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