Filing for bankruptcy can be a difficult decision for anyone, and it’s especially hard if you’re dealing with your financial situation all alone. At such a time, getting legal help can make a difference in a number of ways. An experienced bankruptcy attorney can help you understand your financial situation and the options available to you. Bankruptcy attorneys can also help you decide which type of bankruptcy to file, and handle all the complicated legal paperwork required.
Do you need to file for bankruptcy?
Are you thinking about filing for bankruptcy? You may have been struggling for months to keep up with your credit card and loan payments and have now reached a point where it’s clear that your debts are greater than your income. A bankruptcy lawyer can help you take a clear-eyed look at your finances to decide on your future course.
People are forced to declare bankruptcy for a number of different reasons. Unexpected life events like medical emergencies, divorce, accidents and job loss can leave you in a precarious financial situation. No matter how hard you try, you just can’t seem to break even. It helps to have an objective, legal point of view so you decide how to proceed.
How a lawyer can help
Bankruptcy lawyers work with their clients to help them understand their financial situation and the options available to them. In some cases, it may be possible to seek debt relief, but when total debts are larger than income and assets combined, it’s time to declare a bankruptcy. While it sounds like a catastrophe, this is actually a chance to wipe your slate clean, financially speaking, and to start again.
Bankruptcy laws are made to protect individuals as well as creditors’ interests, and this means that they can be very complicated. It can be difficult for someone who does not understand the law and how courts work to negotiate this alone. In general, people who have legal help in filing for chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy have better outcomes than if they try and handle the process on their own.
Which type of bankruptcy should you file?
A lawyer can also help you decide which type of bankruptcy to file. Chapter 7 bankruptcy uses all your assets to pay off creditors, leaving you debt-free. But it also leaves you without any assets. Another drawback of Chapter 7 bankruptcy is that it stays on your financial record for ten years.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy on the other hand involves negotiating payment of debt with all creditors, usually over a period of three to five years. This works best for people who have some regular source of income. You can keep your assets and use them to rebuild your financial standing. Bankruptcy lawyers are familiar with all the paperwork and legal procedures for both kinds, and can help you to negotiate the courts successfully.
If you’re trying to decide whether to file for bankruptcy, the first thing you should do is contact a reliable firm of bankruptcy lawyers. They can help you at every stage of the process, from the initial decision to the filing and paperwork. They can help you negotiate the legal process through to a successful outcome.