Is Bankruptcy Ethical?

“We know it is legal, but is it ethical?”

This is a question that has been propounded to us for all the decades that we have represented clients.

If it is the optimum solution, considering all aspects of your life, than the answer is “yes”.

You have made a promise and another has in good faith relied on that promise. But if you see that your future personal, business and financial losses clearly out-weigh the harm of your not paying your debts, than the failure to file a bankruptcy can be argued to be the unethical thing to do.

And these logical points could be used to support your conclusion:

1. The possibility of a debt not being paid is an implied provision of any repayment agreement and a known and accounted for risk factor in business.

2. The idea of “debt forgiveness” has been a part of our culture, at least since biblical times. Deuteronomy 15:1 speaks of forgiving one’s debt’s every 7 years. And under U.S. law, the right to file a Bankruptcy is specifically writtein into our Constitution.

In my next message I will provide a quick look at bankruptcy as a mechanism for saving your home.