Hand-Down Day

Due to the severe winter storm anticipated to hit Mid-Missouri from Monday, January 31 through Wednesday, February 2, the office will be closed on the following dates:

Monday, January 31 - The office will close early at 2:00 p.m.

Tuesday, February 1 - The office will be closed. I seriously doubt any groundhogs will be out to see or not see their shadows today.

Wednesday, February 2 - The office will be closed.

Thursday, February 3 - As of 1/31/2011, the office will be closed. If conditions improve (or if we only get a half-foot of snow), there is the possibility of a delayed opening on Thursday.

During the closures, the phones and email will remain operational. Further, the office will take appointments during the closed days for those who absolutely must meet with an attorney, although we strongly encourage everyone to stay home and ride out the storm.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at (573) 796-2093 if you have any further questions.

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Due to the winter storm, the office will open at 1:00 p.m. today and remain open until 5:00 p.m.

Please call (573) 796-2093 to schedule an appointment or to speak with an attorney.

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The office will be closed from Monday November 8 through Friday November 12. We will be available by appointment only and by telephone. If you would like to contact us during this week, please call (573) 796-2093 to schedule your appointment or email us at info@midmolawyer.com.

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By Desiree J. Wolford, Law Clerk

Sometimes bankruptcy is the answer.  Making the decision to file bankruptcy is harder than the actual process itself.  Bankruptcy is harmful to your credit report and can make it difficult to obtain credit in the future.  However, if you are under a severe amount of debt and do not have the resources to make the payments on your debts, then bankruptcy may be an option to consider. 

There are two types of bankruptcy for consumers:  Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.  Chapter 7 provides debtors a complete discharge of their debts, whereas a Chapter 13 is more a payment plan to payback some of the debts you owe.  To determine which Chapter is best for you, it is best to speak to attorney to make that recommendation, because there are several factors that go into whether you qualify for a Chapter 7 or 13.  Such factors are: your income, the amount of debt owed, if you want to keep your house (if it has a mortgage on it) or vehicle, number of dependents, and if you have previously filed a bankruptcy in the past 8 years. 

In my experience, one of the top reasons an individual will file bankruptcy is medical bills.  If a person is uninsured or has a high co-pay, the medical bills will pile up at an alarming rate, and though hospitals and doctors are willing to set up you payment arrangements to pay it off, if you have several medical bills that you owe on, the payment arrangements can become too burdensome on a person's income. 

Another top reason that an individual will file bankruptcy is a life changing circumstance, most often, its job loss or divorce.  These circumstances can leave a debtor with mounds of debt and inability to pay it off.  Bankruptcy provides relief to many Americans each day.  According to an article in Time Magazine, "Nationally, more than 1.4 million business and consumer bankruptcy petitions were filed in 2009, up 32% from the 2008 figure."[1]  In that same article, it is predicted that the number of bankruptcies filed in 2010 will surpass the number of bankruptcies filed in 2009.

                Bankruptcy is not something that you should do lightheartedly or impulsively.  When deciding to file bankruptcy, talk with an attorney so that you realize, not only benefit of a "fresh start" and riding yourself of some if not all of your debts, but to recognize the pitfalls that you may encounter along the way.  Bankruptcy has provided relief to millions of people in America, and will continue to do so.    

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The office will be closed from Tuesday July 27 through Wednesday July 28. We will be available for appointment only during these two days, and can be reached at (573) 230-4911.

We will resume normal office hours on Thursday, July 29.

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