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Any Kansas resident considering filing for bankruptcy should keep in mind that people from all professions and all walks of life use bankruptcy as a tool to eliminate debt. For individuals facing a seemingly relentless flood of debt, paying critical expenses, stopping foreclosure and stopping repossession of vehicles are often first priorities. Personal bankruptcy can help if the situation is dire.

As an example of the scope of individuals who have determined that bankruptcy in one of its many forms is the way to go to recover their financial footing, consider the case of Jim Donnan.

Football fans may know Donnan. He is the former head coach of the University of Georgia and has served as an ESPN analyst. He filed for bankruptcy protection not long ago and has recently agreed to terms to settle the matter.

Donnan began having severe financial challenges when a business in which he was an early investor, GLC Limited, was forced into bankruptcy after being unable to meet promised returns to investors.

The bankruptcy deal that Donnan reached with GLC requires him to pay $7.35 million to the defunct business, which claims that he owes about $13 million. If the agreement is approved by the appropriate judges, the difference would be dissolved and Donnan would no longer owe it.

As the Donnan case illustrates, sometimes people make decisions, financially and otherwise, that just do not work out. They may not even have been poor choices at the time. It can happen in our personal lives and our business lives. The struggling economy, unexpected life changes, medical expenses or sudden unemployment can thrust anybody into situations where they face unmanageable mountains of unpaid bills.

The bankruptcy system is designed to allow people to recover from such dilemmas. For that reason, bankruptcy laws often allow individuals to keep some or all of their essential possessions.

Source: The Kansas City Star, “Ex-UGA coach reaches proposed deal in bankruptcy,” Evan Albright, June 23, 2012