• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • WHO WE ARE
    • About Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
    • News and Events
  • Areas We Serve
    • Essex County, MA
      • Andover
      • Beverly
      • North Andover
    • Hillsborough County, NH
      • Manchester
      • Nashua
    • Middlesex County, MA
      • Concord
      • Lexington
      • Wakefield
      • Winchester
      • Woburn
    • Rockingham County, NH
      • Exeter
      • Londonderry
      • Salem
  • Services
    • Asset & Business Planning
    • Elder Law & Medicaid Services
    • Estate And Gift Tax Figures
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Legacy Planning Services
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Loss Of A Loved One
    • Pet Planning
    • Power Of Attorney
    • Probate and Trust Administration
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Young Families
  • Elder Law
    • Coping with Alzheimer’s
    • Hospice Care
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Nursing Home Planning
  • Resources
    • Elder Law
      • Elder Law & Medicaid Definitions
      • Elder law reports
      • Elder Law Resources
        • Elder Law Resources – Londonderry, New Hampshire
        • Elder Law Resources North Andover, Massachusetts
        • Nashua, New Hampshire Elder Law Resources
        • Woburn, MA Elder Law Resources
    • Estate Planning
      • Estate Planning Articles
      • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
      • Estate Planning Checkup
      • Estate Planning Definitions
      • Estate Planning Reports
        • Advanced Estate Planning
        • Basic Estate Planning
        • Estate Planning for Niches
        • Trust Administration
      • Incapacity Planning Definitions
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Top 10 Estate and Legacy Planning Techniques
    • Free Estate Planning Worksheet
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Asset Protection Planning
      • Business Planning
      • Charitable Gifting
      • Estate Planning
      • Elder Law
      • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Incapacity Planning
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Medicaid Planning
      • Trust Administration & Probate
      • Wills and Trusts
    • Medicaid Calculator
    • Newsletters
    • Presentations
    • Probate and Trust Administration
      • Bereavement Resources
      • How to Know if You Need Extra Help With Your Grieving
      • Loss Of A Loved One
      • Probate Resources
        • Nashua, New Hampshire Probate Resources
        • Probate Resources – Londonderry, New Hampshire
        • Probate Resources – North Andover, MA
        • Probate Resources – Wakefield, Massachusetts
        • Woburn, MA Probate Resources
      • The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Trust
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will
      • Trust Administration & Probate Definitions
    • Published Books
  • Seminars
    • Live Seminars
    • Online Seminars
  • Videos
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us

DeBruyckere Law Offices, PC

Serving Southern New Hampshire & Essex Country, Massachussetts

Call us today(603) 894-4141

(978) 969-0331

Online Seminars
Attend Free Seminar
Home » Elder Law » Bankruptcy on the Rise for Elderly

Bankruptcy on the Rise for Elderly

May 12, 2014Elder Law

Imagine working hard your entire life, raising children, paying off a mortgage and putting money back for that glorious day when you walk out of your employer’s door for the last time and into retirement and all that it promises. And then imagine the moment you realize your efforts weren’t enough. You believed they were and you’d been told to play by the rules and it all falls into place – except, it didn’t fall into place. A new report reveals that bankruptcy filings among senior citizens and the elderly are up by 12 percent – and climbing. These bankruptcies make up nearly a quarter of all filings in the U.S.

Bankruptcy and the Elderly

How could it have happened?

Health care costs are rising fast as are the costs for much-needed prescription drugs. While many have the additional Medicare coverage, there are fears that new regulations will soon make it impossible for many of those providing the prescription drug plans to continue. As a result, it seems as though a vicious cycle begins. Seniors have already tapping into their savings accounts – the very same ones they prided themselves in building over the years. It depletes far faster than it ever grew. Soon, many turn to credit cards, even after they confidently entered into retirement debt free. They’re now in jeopardy of tarnishing an otherwise perfect credit history.

Most don’t want to burden their adult children, so they continue the cycle with hopes that they’ll be able to handle it. A common misconception is the belief that retirement could be financed on their Social Security, only to learn it’s anything but what they planned. The elderly who are in trouble are frequently very embarrassed and don’t know how to get help even if they had the courage to tell someone – and that includes their own attorneys. In fact, it’s becoming increasingly clear that their family members don’t know the depths of their parents’ financial troubles until they learn of the mounting credit card debt and even foreclosure. “Those were the kinds of things I couldn’t hide from my daughters,” stated one client in late 2013.

Supporting Adult Children

Flipping the tables for a minute, with the tough economic years behind us, many adult children turned to their parents for financial guidance until they could rebuild their own finances. It’s important to remember that it’s not always the children now caring for their parents, but rather, the same dynamics flipped as the parent caring for her child – regardless of how old that child is.

The trend really began in the 1990s when seniors began feeling the tightening of their wallets. Sadly, they’re in a constant financial turmoil and for many, they believe they have no other option but to turn to the bankruptcy courts for relief from the debts that are overwhelming them.

Unethical Business Practices

If that’s not enough, the efforts of scam artists and other criminals are on the rise too. Unethical business practices from credit card companies and mortgage companies bring additional burdens. A payment might be missed, which triggers an increase in the interest rate and so the cycle goes.

So what are your options if you realize an elderly loved one is in too deep? It’s important to put into place proper legal protections so that a trusted family member may step up to the plate and offset the losses before it gets as far as foreclosure or bankruptcy. A financial power of attorney is a great place to start. Your elderly loved one’s estate planning or elder law attorney can help navigate the process. These powers of attorney are important in anyone’s estate plan, but the older we get, the more crucial they become.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Daniel DeBruyckere
Daniel DeBruyckere
Attorney Daniel A. DeBruyckere has been practicing law in New Hampshire and Massachusetts since 1998, and has helped hundreds of clients with their estate planning and elder care issues. He is very well respected in the area of estate planning, probate, trust administration, elder law issues, and business planning.
Daniel DeBruyckere
Latest posts by Daniel DeBruyckere (see all)
  • Do I Need an Attorney to Administer a Trust? - January 26, 2023
  • How Using a Trust Can Protect a Valuable Inheritance - January 24, 2023
  • What Seniors Need to Know to Protect Assets - January 19, 2023

Other Articles You May Find Useful

Beverly elder law attorney
What You Need to Know about Osteoporosis
Elder abuse
When a Family Member Commits Elder Abuse
elder care
Planning for Elder Care
North Andover elder law attorneys
Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease
financial abuse
How to Protect an Older Loved One from Financial Abuse
Beverly elder law attorneys
When Is Guardianship the Best Solution?

Download our free Estate Planning Worksheet

There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube
  • Instagram

Blog Subscribe

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Testimonials

DeBruyckere Law Offices, PC footer

Connect with Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
footer-logo

© 2023 DeBruyckere Law Offices
All Right Reseved.

Attorney Advertisement

© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.