If the idea of bankruptcy has crossed your mind, here are four points to consider to determine if you should make your choice with declaring bankruptcy: 1. Timeframe: You do not see a time frame when you believe you can get control of your finances. If you are unemployed and drowning in debt, it is [...]

With the U.S. state debt looming around the $4 Trillion dollar mark, the nonprofit State Budget Solutions combined all state spending. The State Budget Solutions combined states’ major debt, future liabilities, pensions, employee healthcare, unemployment insurance loans, outstanding bonds and fiscal projections and found that states were in debt for $4.2 trillion dollars. Every state [...]

The University of Maryland School of Law’s consumer-protection clinic is trying to get key documents stricken from potentially hundreds of debt-collection cases over an issue more commonly thought of as a foreclosure problem — robo-signing. Midland Funding, which buys old consumer debts and sues to collect, filed affidavits signed by representatives who swore they had [...]

In life you should expect the unexpected, and this is why you need an emergency fund. The best you can do is to prepare for emergencies that require access to additional money and having an emergency fund is the ideal solution. Financial emergencies can come in the form of a job loss, significant medical expenses, [...]

Stocks have kept investors on edge during the past week as the Dow swings from boom to bust. For consumers, it’s a good time to step away from the market mayhem to survey the damage and potential threats to their finances. One area that is getting short shrift — but shouldn’t — is the impact [...]

Lisa Madigan, the Illinois Attorney General has fined Legal Helpers Debt Resolution $314,000 for what the state financial regulator described as “exploitation of financially vulnerable families.” Legal Helpers, Chicago-based debt settlement company has been issued a cease and desist order for operating without a state license and failing to provide legal representation to their clients. [...]

The Attorney General’s Office of Maine has reached an agreement with a Texas-based debt-settlement company accused of violating the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act through an advance fee debt settlement scheme. Federal Law enacted at the end of 2010 forbade any debt settlement company from charging up front fees, fees can only be earned or [...]

The West Virginia state attorney general’s office has reached a settlement with Northtown Capital Associates and Interstate Check Systems of Amherst, N.Y. Both are owned by Joseph H. Elias for illegally collecting debts on West Virginia Citizens. Joseph Elias owns Internet payday loan companies that have very high interest rates. To prevent these companies from [...]

Company accused of misleading listeners Colorado Attorney General John Suthers files suit against Real Talk Network for providing false debt settlement information and non-existent services to clients that needed help. The infomercial on the station was produced by the Hermosa Group and Financial Future Network and instead of providing assistance, they were simply a lead [...]

The former owner of a Baton Rouge, Louisiana debt-collection agency has been released without bail after being charged with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft that allegedly cost Hancock Bank more than $126,000. William Ferguson of LaPlace, Louisiana, stands accused of 61 counts of fraud, as well as three counts of aggravated ID theft. His [...]