Credit Card Debt Laws That You Need to Know
With the struggling economy, many people are finding themselves deep in credit card debt. Therefore, consumers are forced to turn to debt consolidation in order to get control of their finances. However, before a person decides to consolidate their credit card debt, they need to be aware of the credit...
Paying Off Debt With Debt Consolidation
Living with debt is by no means easy. There’s the constant concern of living paycheck to paycheck and the never ending issue of covering monthly bills and living expenses. While most of us pride ourselves on being self-sufficient, it’s hard to ignore that we all sometimes live well beyond our means....


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Mississippi
The new bankruptcy law could not have come at a worse time for post-Katrina Mississippi. Fortunately, Congress did offer some debt relief in the wake of Katrina by relaxing the requirements of the personal bankruptcy means test and allowing more consumers along the Gulf Coast to use the “special circumstances” provision to qualify for Chapter 7. Congress also lightened paperwork restrictions for people in Mississippi & Louisiana who may have lost some of the necessary financial and expense information as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

As time as passed, although Mississippi is still feeling the effects of the Katrina, it is now also feeling the effects of a much stricter bankruptcy law. The biggest change has to do with the fact that overextended borrowers who earn more the median income in Mississippi are now required to “pass” the aforementioned “means test”, which basically asks the debtor a series of questions to try to determine whether they can afford to pay off at least a portion of the debt owed. The following is the median income information for Mississippi as of 2006:

2-person families: 37,841
3-person families: 42,380
4-person families: 52,992
5-person families: 49,555
6-person families: 41,297
7-or-more-person families: 40,503

Many people prefer not to file bankruptcy for a wide variety of reasons, whether it’s the fact that they don’t qualify for Chapter 7 or they would prefer not to accept the credit impact associated with declaring. If you fit into this boat and would like to investigate whether bankruptcy is your best debt option, submit a form and PayingPaul.Com will match you with a debt management company for a free consultation!

Or check out some other articles related to debt / credit in Mississippi: Mississippi Consumer Credit Counseling Services
Mississippi Bankruptcy Laws
Mississippi Debt Collection

Bankruptcy Statistics for Mississippi

2004: 21,007
2005: 23,481
2006: 8,639

Like most other states, Mississippi saw a significant drop in the number of people filing bankruptcy in 2006. Across the nation, 2005 was the busiest year in our history at the bankruptcy courts, as overwhelmed debtors rushed to declare Chapter 7 before the law changes were implemented in October of 2005. Combining this with the financial effects of Hurricane Katrina, more than 23,000 Mississippians filed bankruptcy in 2005. With bankruptcy reform, however, 2006 saw a 63.2% decrease in the number of filings, as more consumers began turning to debt management alternatives to solve their problems.
 

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