Drowning in debt? Talk to a Blaine bankruptcy attorney — without the cold calls.

Blaine is one of the larger and faster-growing suburbs in the north metro, straddling Anoka County with newer subdivisions, retail corridors, and the National Sports Center, a large amateur sports complex that draws visitors from across the region. Growth has brought newer housing with correspondingly larger mortgages, and many residents commute to jobs across the Twin Cities. When a household built around two incomes loses one, or when medical bills or variable-rate debt grow faster than wages, even families in newer homes can find themselves considering bankruptcy.

Blaine residents file in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota. Anoka County is part of the Minneapolis division, so cases are heard at the Diana E. Murphy United States Courthouse, 300 South Fourth Street in downtown Minneapolis. Like all Minnesota filers, Blaine residents may choose between Minnesota's state exemption laws and the federal bankruptcy exemptions, which cover home equity, vehicles, household goods, and retirement savings in different amounts and ways.

An attorney who regularly handles Anoka County cases in the Minneapolis division will know the local trustees and court procedures, and can help a Blaine filer weigh Chapter 7 against Chapter 13, apply the means test to the household's income, and plan how to protect a home with significant equity or catch up on a mortgage that has fallen behind.