Maybe you charged too much on your credit cards and got caught in a spiral of skyrocketing interest rates. Or perhaps you borrowed too much money to go to college and are now stuck in a lousy job that doesn’t even allow you to think about an easy repayment plan. No matter what your circumstances might be, if your debt seems to be piling up around you at too rapid a pace to track, then you’re likely to find yourself stressed out and frustrated on a regular daily basis. After all, the idea of owing money is bad enough to begin with, but if your debt seems truly insurmountable, then it can be difficult to motivate yourself to start chipping away at it piece by piece.
Those faced with situations of having tons of debt and relatively minimal income prospects tend to opt for similar solutions – Chapter 7 filings. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is essentially a liquidation that works to absolve filers of their debts. For many, a Chapter 7 filing is truly the key to a brand new start, especially from a financial perspective. Then again, Chapter 7 can be a process, and a filing is something that will stay on one’s record permanently, regardless of how he manages to turn his finances around. For these reasons, plenty of people might consider Chapter 7 to be not as rosy a solution as some attorneys might make it out to be. And in rare cases, some might find themselves motivated to take a less conventional approach to dealing with overwhelming debt – fleeing the country.
Darren Hojnacki of the Atlanta-based firm Hojnacki & Hojnacki, LLC is a bankruptcy attorney who has been helping clients manage and settle their debts for the past three years. He says it is not unheard of for a person to leave the country and relocate internationally in an attempt to escape his debt. However, such tactics might not be as effective as one might think as far as debt elimination is concerned. In fact, Hojnacki insists that just because a person leaves the country does not mean that his U.S. debt automatically disappears. Quite the contrary: The debt will usually remain intact, thereby making it rather difficult for a person in such a situation to return to the country and attempt to resume a normal life.
On the other hand, since desperate times tend to call for desperate measures, in recent years, the economic downturn has prompted more and more individuals to flee the country rather than face the consequences of their bills. In fact, numerous individuals living abroad might classify themselves as student loan refugees – people who ended up with more college debt than their jobs could support, and who chose to leave the country rather than face the music. And since international collection attempts tend to be expensive for debt collection agencies, many who choose to go this route can easily reestablish themselves abroad, thereby avoiding the stigma of bankruptcy and the annoyance of constant creditor calls. The only downside, of course, is that if such folks do one day decide to return the United States, they’re likely to find themselves faced with a world of monetary trouble as soon as their respective planes touch down on American soil.
If you’ve managed to amass such a high pile of debt that you’re pondering leaving the county, then you might want to consult with a bankruptcy attorney before packing up your belongings and kissing your life as you know it goodbye. Remember, with the right help, it is possible to recover from a debt situation and start fresh on your own turf. So unless you’re truly ready to part ways with the United States permanently, you’re best staying put and dealing with your debt responsibly.
This article is for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this article as a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances, and you should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Publication of this article and your receipt of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.
