How Bankruptcy Looks in Dayton, Ohio After the Largest Shutdown in US History
As a bankruptcy attorney in Dayton Ohio for over 30 years, I know how to help my clients overcome economic shutdown and financial pressure. Dayton has suffered numerous economic setbacks. Delco, Mead, NCR. All gone. And personal bankruptcy is often necessary to help families survive, and thrive, after economic disaster strikes.
This economic shutdown is, without doubt, the worst blow Dayton and the surrounding areas has suffered to date. Thousands of families are hanging by a thread, desperate to get back to work, back to normal (whatever that may be) and start picking up the pieces.
How can you recover? Businesses are going out of business. The economic shutdown has has affected us all. There seems to be no clear recovery in sight. What are you going to do? If you’re like most people I know, your bills didn’t go away when your income tanked.
Nobody I ever represented really liked the idea of filing bankruptcy. Most believe that it’s a sign of failure, like they did something wrong. In their mind, intellectually speaking, they know better.
We all understand that we did not create the pandemic. We’re not responsible for this mess. But, nevertheless, when the idea of filing bankruptcy to fix the financial crisis comes to mind, it “feels” like a failure, like something “you shouldn’t need to do.” It just “feels wrong” somehow.
The funny thing is – we know people who have filed bankruptcy, and we don’t think they “did something wrong.”
We don’t think of them as “failures.”
In fact, we would openly support them in filing bankruptcy.
Somehow, though, it’s not “ok” for us.
We hold ourselves to some sort “double standard” that what’s ok for them is wrong for us.
The truth is that we did not cause this.
And if we file bankruptcy because it’s the smart thing for us to do, we have not failed.
It’s not wrong to take advantage of every possible option we have, including bankruptcy, to protect and care for our families, keep our homes, our cars, our standard of living.
On contrary, it’s the responsible thing to do.
In fact, we have an obligation to investigate our options and do the right thing.
But, it’s hard.
We are “hard-wired” to pay our bills.
Above all we want to be responsible, and fair. If we make a debt we want to pay it. All of us.
But when we just can’t do it, it’s really hard to accept, and harder to take action.
Making it even harder for us to take action is the misunderstanding many people have about bankruptcy. Many think that they will lose property, have bad credit forever, and have to pay cash for everything as a result. The strange thing about this is that most of us know others who have filed bankruptcy and did not lose their homes or cars, and yet somehow, we still think WE will have these things happen to us if we file bankruptcy. Strange but true.
I’ve spent my entire 33 year career helping families in Dayton Ohio and surrounding areas to overcome financial disaster by filing bankruptcy. Because I’m also a certified credit counselor, I also help them quickly recover their credit.
The economic shutdown is hurting us all. But there are options, and many, many of us will need to file personal bankruptcy to get through it. My advice is start thinking now about your options. You need a plan. Don’t put it off. You are not responsible for this horrible problem, but each of us is responsible for taking the steps we need to take to recover. And if that means financial reorganization through filing bankruptcy, there is no shame in it. As a Dayton Ohio bankruptcy attorney, I know that economic disaster knows no boundaries, and strikes people in all walks of life.
