In a recent post, Why Bankruptcy Filings will Increase in 2012, Georgia State Professor Jack Williams commented on the potential of an ”invisible class of debtors who can’t afford to file.” The article also featured a quote from Matt Berry of Berry & Associates in Atlanta. Like Williams, Berry agrees that there is a large portion of Georgia residents that want to file, but cannot afford to at this time.
The assumption is that bankruptcy petitions will increase in Georgia as the employment rate improves. As people get back to work, those in financial trouble will be able to pay the price of filing and they will have the income needed to pay their creditors. The need for income is necessary for filing a Georgia Chapter 13 for example. Equally, as people have income, and pressure from creditors for repayment, the desire to take action will increase because residents will have more to lose.
Read the Boston.com article: Bankruptcy Filings Down but May Signal Financial Struggles
As the economy improves it is also expected that creditors will put additional pressures to collect from debtors. In the last year foreclosure filings have been more relaxed, which is an indicator that an uptick may occur later in 2011, if not in the first half of 2012. Attorneys like Berry are preparing for the economy to shift and more consumers to come to his law firm with questions. His law firm Berry & Associates operates 10 bankruptcy law firm locations in metro Atlanta.
