Debt, Poverty, and Personal 'Financial Distress'

Abstract

The phrase “financial distress” pervades scholarship in bankruptcy, consumer law, and related fields. This Article questions the definitions scholars now often affix to this phrase and argues that it should be understood differently. I argue that “financial distress” should be defined and understood more broadly because the now-prevailing narrow definition tends to overstate the importance of distress caused by unmanageable debt and understate the importance of distress caused by poverty.

Keywords: bankruptcy, consumer, financial, distress, debtor, creditor