What Should I Expect from a Bankruptcy Attorney?
Bankruptcy, like most legal matters, is a process and the safest route is to have an attorney guide you through the process if you want to succeed.
A good bankruptcy attorney will give you peace of mind if they provide at least these four things:
- An initial consultation to get an overview of your case
- Advice on options available, including what type of bankruptcy to file
- Completed paperwork necessary for filing bankruptcy
- Representation when the case goes to court
The bankruptcy process begins with a 30-60 minute interview between you and a lawyer. If you are married, both of you should attend so that all questions can be answered honestly and accurately.
Making guesses about how much you owe and who you owe it to is not a good idea. The attorney will want some paperwork that backs up your answers on how many assets you have and how much you owe. Don’t hold anything back if you want an honest and accurate assessment of your situation.
When the attorney has enough documented evidence to evaluate your case, he should offer advice on how to proceed. A good attorney does not always recommend filing bankruptcy. It’s possible your problem could be resolved through less drastic means like debt settlement or maybe even a debt management program.
If your decision is to file bankruptcy, the next thing to expect from an attorney is filing paperwork with the court. Remember that the attorney is there to protect as many of your assets as he/she can, so chime in on what is most important to you.
Then, there is the matter of appearing before a judge. The lawyer should be experienced enough to give judges convincing evidence that you made some mistakes, have learned your lesson and will do much better financially if the judge will give you a second chance. This often is no problem in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, but can get tricky in Chapter 13 when the lawyer must lay out a plausible payment plan that you can complete in less than five years.
Do I Need a Bankruptcy Attorney?
Consumers may choose whether to hire an attorney or represent themselves in filing bankruptcy, but as the numbers cited above from the American Bankruptcy Institute clearly demonstrate, hiring an attorney is a huge advantage.
The math on this subject is overwhelming:
- Only one in 25 consumers using an attorney loses a case when filing Chapter 7. One out of three who files on their own, loses in Chapter 7 cases.
- Only about one in 50 consumers filing for themselves in Chapter 13, wins a case. Hire a lawyer and your chance for success is better than four-out-of-10.
The reasons are fairly obvious. Bankruptcy is a complex subject. Creditors want to get paid by consumers who say they don’t have the money. Lawyers on both sides are trying to convince judges that their client is right.
If you are not experienced in filing legal documents or arguing your case persuasively, you could lose on ridiculously simple mistakes. An experienced attorney knows what papers must be filed and what deadlines must be met. An experienced attorney knows the judges involved and what arguments they must make to get the result.
That is why hiring an attorney has so much higher a success rate that attempts to file on your own.
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