We’ve arrived at the last day of this eventful and historical year.  In hindsight, we realize we’ve witnessed much history and have seen things we never dreamed possible.  The country’s largest companies have found themselves struggling just to keep their doors open, political leaders in new scandals from everything from marital affairs to placing price tags on political vacancies and the unbelievable audacity of one businessman’s belief he could get away with the theft of fifty billion dollars.  Below you’ll find a few more newsworthy events from the last half of 2008. The first half can be found here and here.

July 15 - A woman calls 911 to report her granddaughter has been missing for thirty one days. Caylee Anthony, who was two years old when she disappeared, has since been found murdered less than one half mile from her home.  Her own mother, Casey Anthony, was indicted on October 14 for the murder.  Her trial is set to begin in early 2009.

July 23 - Hurricane Dolly makes landfall as a Category 2 hurricane on the U.S.-Mexico border.

August 29 - Republican presidential candidate John McCain announces his running mate.  AK Governor Sarah Palin comes in with a bang and shakes up the entire election.  She’s well-received and

Anne Pressly

quickly gains a solid following from those not only from her home state, but from the country as a whole.

September 13 -  This is the day most analysts agree was day the chains come unhinged as Lehman Brothers announced it was near bankruptcy, AIG announced it was in hot water because of its underwriting practices and the mortgage crisis finally comes into full light and Americans realized just how bad things were on the economic front.

October 2008 - OJ Simpson is finally found guilty of one of his crimes.  A jury determined he was guilty of several felonies committed during a Las Vegas hotel room break-in.  He’s accused of stealing, at gunpoint, sports memorabilia and other momentos.  He’s facing thirty-three years in prison as a result of this guilty verdict.

October 20 - Anne Pressly, an admired Arkansas news anchor, was found murdered in her home.  A suspect has since been arrested and is awaiting trial.

October 24 - Jennifer Hudson’s family, including her mother and brother, are found murdered in their Chicago home.  A few days later, her nephew is found murdered in an abandoned vehicle.  An ex-husband of her sister is now charged with these murders. 

October 2008 - New legal provisions are passed that require insurance companies to provide the same coverage for mental health as they do physical health.  For twelve years, advocates have worked to ensure this law is passed.

November 4 - National history is made as Barack Obama becomes the first black president ever elected and will be the first U.S. president to enter office during wartime. 

Jennifer Hudson

November 2008 - The pregnant man (who is biologically a woman) announces a second pregnancy.  Thomas Beatie, a transgender who has undergone testosterone therapy but still has the reproductive organs of a woman, gave birth for the first time in March of this year.

December 9 - IL Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested for attempting to sell the vacancy left by President-elect Barack Obama in the Illinois Senate.  He’s also been accused of a number of other illegal and unethical activities.  Attempts are now being made to have him impeached from office.

As we head into a new year, we do so in a recession but also with hopes of effective solutions to these problems and with sincere attempts to leave the “one step forward and two steps back” way of doing things behind.

We’ve all seen the news the past few days of how the economy is in big trouble and for the first time in a long time, it’s not the oil companies in the crosshairs.

Lehman Brothers and AIG are the two players who seem to be responsible for the breaking news emails. It’s difficult, at best, to understand why our sympathies should be directed to those at the top of the food chain. I’ve no idea either. I happen to believe in karma and maybe it’s time for another round of tumbles from these high pedestals.

But since it appears homeowners, especially those with the misfortune of having an adjustable rate mortgage or have what’s referred to as a “subprime mortgage”, will feel the pain in short order - we all know the trickle down effect of how the American economy works, maybe it’s time for a reminder of the fact they’re not alone.

Those in this category appear to be most at risk for foreclosure or bankruptcy proceedings. What generally happens is a potential homeowner, who sees an ad promising 100% approval for applicants, will apply for a mortgage. His credit history is the single most important factor in this entire process. If his credit is less than stellar, as most histories are, he might be offered a higher rate on an ARM. He gets a crash course of what that means and realizes it boils down to higher monthly payments and for two or three years, a consistent monthly payment. After the twenty four months (or thirty six months) elapse, the bank has the option to adjust his monthly payments, with little or no warning, to reflect whatever state the economy is in. What’s not as well known as it should be is that at this point, provided the homeowner has taken advantage of the tax incentives and has managed to improve his credit scores, is the option to refinance into a fixed (read: consistent) rate. Many do, but many don’t. It’s those who don’t refinance and stay in this unpredictable cycle of not knowing what their mortgage payments will be who are most at risk for foreclosure or bankruptcy. Foreclosure is to a homeowner what Ike was to Galveston. These homeowners usually lose their homes, or for those who file bankruptcy, they do have the option to keep their homes. The stress involved with financial uncertainty, the fear of foreclosure and/or bankruptcy prevents an objective plan of action, including thorough research into options that may not have even been considered. As I’ve mentioned before, there are many programs available to assist struggling homeowners. Everything from providing low interest loans to bring mortgages current, to assisting homeowners in their efforts to work with their mortgage companies to renegotiate a payment plan for the arrears - these are all options and are available with few or no restrictions.

It’s important to realize the attorney you sat down with at the loan closing is a title attorney and his job was to ensure the title had no liens and was otherwise clean and transferrable. You might have noticed he most likely came in long enough to ensure your competency and ability to understand what you were signing, and then had everything signed, and at that point, he certified there were no liens on your new home. But he did that at the request of the mortgage company. A title attorney’s major contribution to this entire process was the title search that was conducted while the paperwork was being processed and routed.

If you’re facing bankruptcy, and are certain there’s no other way, it’s important to find a lawyer who is experienced in these proceedings, is sensitive to the emotions people experience once they realize this is their only option and who will be available to answer your questions during the entire process. It’s also important to realize that as traumatic as it feels now, the future can offer a better financial outlook and it’s up to you to build upon that future - and know that in the whole scheme of things, when you look back on your life, you’ll see it as unfortunate, but not the end of the world and moving forward is the common denominator in each of our lives.

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