You're In Good Company
Did you know that Presidents of the United States of American are not immune to financial catastrophe? That’s right, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and William McKinley each availed themselves to various degrees in the insolvency protection America’s laws provided at the time, proving that even some of our country’s most powerful men sometimes struggle financially.
Thomas Jefferson, our nation’s 3rd president, not only authored the Declaration of Independence, but also spent a large part of his life teetering on the brink of insolvency. His habit of importing foreign luxuries and lending money to friends who failed to repay him resulted in his heirs selling Monticello to pay off a portion of his debts after his death in 1826.
Known for his wisdom, Abraham Lincoln guided our country through a devastating Civil War as our nation’s 16th president, but he had previously lost everything when the general store he purchased with a partner in 1832 failed. Shortly after seeking legal protection from his creditors in 1833, Abraham Lincoln’s business partner died and Lincoln spent almost the next two decades paying off the business’ debts on his own.
During two terms in office, our country’s 18th president, Ulysses S. Grant, worked intensely to reunite the North and the South. After leaving office, Grant lived a life beyond his means traveling internationally and ultimately invested his money in a poor business venture with his son and another partner, Ferdinand Ward. Ward embezzled Grant’s money, forcing both the business and Grant to file bankruptcy. Grant resorted to selling his wartime memoirs to support himself and his wife shortly before his death in 1885.
William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States of America, was forced to file bankruptcy in 1893 while serving as Ohio’s governor after an investment he made with a friend in a tin plate company went bad. McKinley might have gone bankrupt, but he won the presidency just a few short years later!
Bankruptcy laws were established to give debtors, even our nation’s presidents, a fresh start. Although filing for bankruptcy seems overwhelming and frustrating, many have filed and have gone on to accomplish great things.
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For more than 20 years, the Sasser Law Firm has been helping individuals and business owners sort through financial hardships to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our North Carolina bankruptcy attorneys are all board-certified specialists, which means we have passed a complex exam, undergone a thorough peer review, and continue to earn legal education credits in this ever-evolving area of law.
