When you choose to ignore a problem it typically doesn’t just go away and often gets worse. Many of my bankruptcy clients bury their heads in the sand because they are hoping and praying their financial situation will get better. As human beings, when we are not ready to face a problem, we think it’ll go away on its own. We bury our head in the sand because we think that it’s going to get better. People go through their retirements. They go through their savings because they don’t want to be in bankruptcy, so they deplete everything. That breaks my heart because in a bankruptcy, I could save things like that. I like it when people come to see me when they haven’t sold off their possessions or depleted their savings so I can still help them save their savings, retirement and possessions through exemptions.
I’ll never forget this one elderly lady. It was during the mortgage meltdown, and she had gone up to Oregon because she retired. She bought the cutest little house; she even had a picture of it. It was a little gingerbread house, and she was so excited. Then, she lost everything. Now, she’s talking to me, and she’s living in a little granny flat outside of her daughter’s house. I told her, “Well, I can save your retirement. She said, “I withdrew it all to pay the bills”. I can save your jewelry. She said, “No, I pawned all that.”
It just broke my heart because here she still had this picture of her house because it was her dream home that she lost through foreclosure. I tell people that I can help save their dreams, but they have to see me with enough time to save what I legally can save.
But, I also understand why people bury their head. They want to believe that the problem’s going to go away. Unfortunately, not many of them do. I hope one of the things people take away from this book is to let me help them face their problems. Let me take your hand and help you get through your problems, your legal ones anyway. If it’s a bankruptcy, divorce, getting a will or trust, or doing a probate, I can help you.
One of my girlfriends credits me with something I don’t remember telling her. When we were in law school, I told her, “Listen, if we all stood in a circle and threw all our problems into the circle so people could see them, we’d take back our own problems.” Once you see everyone else’s problems, you can’t imagine dealing with them. That left an impact on her. But, it is true. We all have problems, and I think that people who have never had a problem in their life have not really lived life.
Tell Me About One Of The Newest And Biggest Life Events That Occurred For You This Past Year Especially In The Middle Of A Pandemic.
I believe you need to find happiness, wherever you can. This year I became a grandmother for the first in April 2020.
My oldest daughter is living a fairytale life. I get to live vicariously through her! She was married in Tuscany in 2015 and they travel all over the world. They lived in Singapore, Oakland and now they are living in Amsterdam. My daughter got pregnant and I went over to see her in February 2020 because there was something in me that needed to see my daughter pregnant. It allowed me to relive my own pregnancy with her. It was wonderful and fun. She wanted to hear all these stories of what it was like for me being pregnant with her. I just wanted to sit and be mother-daughter/friends. It was everything that I used to tell people while I was raising both my daughters – that I was trying to raise my future friends. Mission accomplished. It was a really lovely visit. And then the pandemic shut down the world in March 2020.
I had a flight booked for June to meet my first granddaughter but that didn’t happen. However, I am very thankful for technology. I get a lot of photos, we video chat, and I get to watch my granddaughter grow before my eyes. She’s now 9 months, but there is a part of it all that almost seems surreal. How can I be a grandmother when I can’t hold my granddaughter? I talk to my daughter and her husband about this too —because how can you really have a child? It was interesting when they said it felt surreal to them too because they could not introduce her to family and friends. They haven’t been able to show off their child. Any for any of us that are parents, you know that the first thing we do is show off our photos. We look at their pictures and talk about our kids. That doesn’t go away just because of the pandemic!
The other happiness that I experienced in 2020 was the marriage of my youngest daughter in September. They had planned a fantastic wedding in Spain on 10-10-2020 but that got cancelled. In the beginning like many other eager brides she watched and waited hopefully that this pandemic would go away quickly. But it didn’t. So, she did what many couples did – they “pivoted” and made it happen. They got married in a small family only ceremony at a winery. We all agreed even though it wasn’t what they have dreamed of, it was still perfect.
For more information on Ignoring Financial Problems & Filing Bankruptcy, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling 209-717-6150 today.