Wisconsin Bankruptcy Law

With intense competition from Netflix and others, bricks and mortar video rental stores have really fallen on hard times. Movie Gallery, Inc., the parent company of Hollywood Video filed for bankruptcy protection several months ago and closed several of its Milwaukee-area stores. After defaulting on one of its loans, the company notified the court on May 7 that it will shut down all of its approximately 1,900 remaining locations nationwide, including stores in Cudahy, Racine, and Kenosha.  The chain has lost significant market share to the movies-by-mail or via online streaming offered by Netflix or local Redbox rental kiosks. Blockbuster Video has encountered similar issues, and may also wind up in bankruptcy. Blockbuster has already closed a number of its shops around the country.

As these corporations (as well as local small businesses) are finding out, consumer preferences can be fickle.  If you own a troubled business in Wisconsin that may not be able to stay afloat in this difficult economic environment, a bankruptcy attorney in Milwaukee can help. A skilled Wisconsin bankruptcy lawyer can assess you assets and liabilities and develop a solution, which can include a Milwaukee small business bankruptcy, geared to your particular needs. While the bankruptcy law, for example, does not permit you to go Chapter 13 as a business entity, the petition can include business-related debts for which you signed a personal guarantee. So an individual bankruptcy in Wisconsin does provide some means for dealing with heavy debts that an individual might have piled up in a business.

Desperation is an immediate response to being served with foreclosure paperwork.  Immediately, you start to wonder how much time you have and if you are going to be kicked out of your house.  Wisconsin bank foreclosures have not stopped, and there are many people out there that are faced with the dilemma of trying to keep their homes.  The process of foreclosure can be overwhelming and it may be useful to know your rights and what options you might have.

First, it is important to know how you ended up facing foreclosure in the first place.  Were you at one time capable of paying your monthly mortgage statements and have since experienced a financial burden such as a job loss that has made it impossible to continue to make those payments?  Would you be able to pay your mortgage if everything were to be brought current?  It is important to answer these questions to determine whether or not filing a chapter 13 bankruptcy in Milwaukee would actually help you.   It is true that a debt consolidation lawyer can bring your loan current so that the threat of foreclosure goes away, but it is important to understand that you will still need to be able to make your normal mortgage payment every month.

If you cannot currently afford the payments, you will want to look into your options of modification to lower the monthly amount and make it more affordable.   Bankruptcy attorneys handle these types of situations all of the time, so it may be in your best interest to meet with one to discuss what options you have.  Do not wait to talk to someone!   The foreclosure will not go away and ignoring it will eat up precious time to address the situation.  Learn more about Wisconsin bankruptcy information before it’s too late, and you may be able to save your house!

With the baseball season in full swing, the ordinary perception is that owning a professional sports franchise is like a license to print money. Evidently not so. The Hicks Sports Group (HSG), the owners of the Texas Rangers, defaulted on $525 million in debt last year, and unhappy creditors may force the team into involuntary bankruptcy. The team and the creditors have evidently reached a stalemate in negotiations. Amidst this turmoil, Major League Baseball (MLB) may seize the team (under its "best interests of baseball" rule) to orchestrate the sale of the franchise to a group that includes team president Nolan Ryan, the Hall of Fame pitcher. Creditors, however, are said to be dissatisfied with that prospect because of other, higher offers that are on the table. The team owes money to 40 creditors, with the largest being Monarch Alternative Capital.

According to Sports Business Journal.com:

MLB is motivated in part to have the sale completed because it has been supporting payroll at the team since the default. But baseball may also be moving to act now because of worries the creditors could file an involuntary bankruptcy petition. At that point, baseball would not be able to exert the influence it could now, said Irwin Kishner, chairman of the corporate department at New York law firm Herrick Feinstein.

“In bankruptcy court, the judge wants to maximize the assets on behalf of the creditors,” he said.

As part of the deal, apparently the Ryan group is willing to pay HSG for land near the ballpark on which there are no creditor liens, which makes it the preferred buyer from HSG’s point of view.

All high-finance wheeling-dealing is a far cry from what might be involved in, for example, a Milwaukee small business bankruptcy voluntarily entered into by the business owner. Subject to certain unsecured debt limits, a self-employed individual or someone operating an unincorporated business is eligible for Chapter 13 relief under the bankruptcy laws of Wisconsin. By restructuring the amount owed, a Chapter 13 plan allows some debts to be paid off in monthly installments in a three-to-five year period while discharging others. If you operate a business that’s on the verge of closing its doors because the debt load has become unmanageable, contact a bankruptcy attorney in Milwaukee. And depending upon the circumstances, you may be allowed to continue your business during the course of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Milwaukee or elsewhere.

For consumers seeking debt relief in Wisconsin, Green Bay’s WFRV-TV and WFRV.com warns state residents about doing business with fly-by-night debt consolidation companies, many of whom advertise heavily in the media. Complaints to state and local government regulators about these firms–who sometimes take the money and run–are apparently on the increase.

The Wisconsin Better Business Bureau says that some of the companies promising to settle mortgage, credit card debt, or other bills are legitimate, but consumers need to be wary of certain red flags. For example, never pay large upfront fees to the debt consolidator; instead, use that money to pay off the underlying debt. Also, it may be more effective for the consumer to negotiate directly with the creditor to set up a reasonable payment plan rather than pay an intermediary to do so. A Better Business Bureau official also suggested that consumers stay skeptical of any broad guarantee by a debt consolidation company along the lines of eliminating 40 to 70 percent of the outstanding debt.

Every Wisconsin debt consolidator must obtain a license from the state Department of Financial Institutions.  Any consumer who wants to research a debt consolidation company can access the Department’s records as well as checking with the Better Business Bureau for a complaint history, if any.

Another option for the consumer is to meet with a skilled and experienced bankruptcy attorney in Milwaukee to review your balance sheet. An individual bankruptcy in Wisconsin could be best approach in difficult circumstances. A Wisconsin bankruptcy lawyer is subject to strict ethical rules, including putting the best interests of the client at the top of the priority list. Rather than getting mixed up with an iffy-at-best debt consolidation company, seeking counsel from a professional debt consolidation lawyer can be a better alternative. Your lawyer can present with authority a financial framework for going forward that may or may not include a personal bankruptcy in Milwaukee or in the surrounding area.

All indications are that the recession has really slammed entrepreneurs and small business owners, those risk takers who are often considered the backbone of the economy. According to some estimates, small business is the primary driver in commercial bankruptcy filings today.

If you own a troubled small business in Wisconsin, the law won’t let you file under Chapter 13 directly as a business. However, in your Chapter 13 paperwork, you might be able to include your business-related debts for which you are personally liable. So an individual bankruptcy in Wisconsin does provide some means for dealing with heavy debts that you’ve piled up in a business.

Many self-employed individuals, sole proprietors, and other small business owners operate in the service sector. In fact, many of them started up their businesses after being caught in a mass layoff. The ripple affect of further corporate cutbacks has caused these small businesses to lose a lot of their contract work.  Other factors that have hamstrung small business include the credit crunch, collapsing real estate values, and reduced consumer spending. So a Milwaukee small business bankruptcy among other possible options is not out of the ordinary when the economy is on the skids.

So if your small business is going sideways, you’re certainly not alone. In this environment, you might want to figure out your risk tolerance going forward. In other words, how much more cash do you want to put in to keep the business afloat or how much longer can you operate in the red in an anticipation of a turnaround. If your business has reached the point of no return, it may be time to talk to a debt consolidation lawyer. A skilled and experienced Wisconsin bankruptcy lawyer can help you determine which business debts, if any, can be included in a possible Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in Milwaukee or elsewhere in the state.