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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Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico, like the rest of the United States, has witnessed major changes to filing bankruptcy due to new law passed by Congress in 2005. The one distinct difference between the old bankruptcy and the new one is that consumers who earn more than the median income in Puerto Rico can be forced into filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy, instead of the preferred Chapter 7 option. The reason why more people are being forced into Chapter 13 has to do with the fact that consumers are required to pay off some or all of their debt on a repayment plan over three to five years under this type of bankruptcy. Whereas with Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a consumer’s debts are discharged almost immediately, and for many people, the total cost is nothing more than their attorney fees and court costs. Since both chapter bankruptcy’s affect your credit severely, most people want to at least save as much money as possible.

In light of the tighter restrictions, more Puerto Ricans are turning to options like credit negotiation and debt counseling for help with their credit cards. To learn more about whether these are appropriate solutions for your debt problem, please submit a form for a free consultation!

Detailed below is the median income information for Puerto Rico as of 2006:

2-person families: 16,643
3-person families: 21,640
4-person families: 25,404
5-person families: 24,838
6-person families: 21,024
7-or-more-person families: 23,145

Bankruptcy Statistics

2004: 12,999
2005: 12,704
2006: 5,248

Puerto Rico saw the same decline in the number of bankruptcy filings as just about every state following the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act in 2005. In all the total number of filings decreased by 7,456 from 2005 until 2006 in Puerto Rico, which adds up to 58 percent decrease. With more consumers having trouble qualifying for Chapter 7 because of their income, many have begun turning to debt options like credit counseling and debt negotiation instead to reduce payments.

Puerto Rico Resources If you are interested in learning more about the credit & debt topics pertaining to Puerto Rico, check out these articles:

Puerto Rico Consumer Credit Counseling Services
Puerto Rico Bankruptcy Laws
Puerto Rico Debt Collection
 

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