What could be worse than losing your home because you are unable to make the monthly payments?

Foreclosure becomes a very real possibility unless your bank is willing to work with you. In many cases they are not.

But Mississippi attorney general, Jim Hood, said that may change very soon.

Congress has bailed out Wall Street and the nation's automakers. Now attorneys general from 21 states want some relief for home owners. But according to Hood, this idea won't cost the country millions.

"You already have the bankruptcy court with the bankruptcy judges who want to grant this relief to those who file bankruptcy," Hood said.

Hood says a simple change to the federal bankruptcy code could give judges the discretion to order a loan modification and keep families in their homes.

"Not let people get away with a free home or anything; just adjust their payment schedule and try can knock off some of these excess charges," Hood said.

Sonya Murphy says her Mississippi ACORN office has tried to help families facing bankruptcy for two years now and this is one of the best ideas she's seen.

"If the servicer can negotiate with that family member to get an affordable payment, then I think that family can maintain their home and continue to pay the mortgage note," Murphy said.

if it passes, the code change could be a win-win for both the homeowner and the lender.

"They want to agree, because they want people to continue to live in those homes," said Hood. "They want people to continue to pay the debt."

And look for this to be passed by Congress fairly quickly in Washington.

Hood says he believes in the first 100 days of the Obama administration we'll see many efforts to help out main street Americans.