In Arkansas and elsewhere, there is often concern over the heavy debt situation that some elderly couples are confronting. Sometimes, elderly individuals or couples can be in financial hot water due to going overboard in helping their children. When a couple’s income recedes after retirement, they may seek various debt relief solutions, including bankruptcy, in order to survive financially and retain their independence.
They may have taken out a home equity loan in prior years or they may have limited equity in their home. That situation rules out seeking another home equity loan to retire the overwhelming unsecured debt that the couple has incurred. Moreover, the perceived solution of reducing one’s home equity down to nothing is something to be avoided wherever possible.
In the situation where there is little or a relatively modest amount of home equity, combined with an overwhelming unsecured debt load that cannot be paid by an elderly couple’s insufficient retirement income, bankruptcy may be an answer. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy would quickly and permanently erase the unsecured debt load, allowing the couple to begin living in a more relaxed and desirable retirement environment. Moreover, the modest amount of equity remaining in the marital home will be preserved and remain untouched.
Single people or married couples will find it difficult to survive financially in their retirement years when all they have to live on is Social Security and a limited amount of pension or other retirement income. It would be appropriate for them to obtain a consultation with an experienced consumer bankruptcy attorney in Arkansas. They will then be able to determine whether they qualify to eliminate their unsecured debt quickly and retain their home and their home equity intact.
Source: mystatesman.com, “If you need Social Security, take time to learn about it”, Scott Burns, Nov. 15, 2015