We would wholeheartedly endorse you going with a certified professional to help you with your bankruptcy filing. If the law is so easy to interpret, then you should not have difficulty applying for the bankruptcy yourself. But the reality is that the bankruptcy is especially hard to interpet. If you erroneously file or not apply a specific document or debt, you can potentially lose the potential to the debt discharged. The fee of the bankruptcy lawyer is not cheap by any measure, but at least you know the bankruptcy petition will be done right. You do not want to lose your bankruptcy rights because you have not filed the right documents or following the right procedures. There are many resources on the Internet that can provide you with a certified bankruptcy lawyer in your local area, here is one of them.
Once you have find a lawyer who you can work with, you want to arrange that initial meeting to review your specific case. The purpose of this meeting with the lawyer is to detail every single financial hardship you have encountered, and to reexamine your financial standing. You should not holdback anything from the lawyer because the lawyer is representing you and has your best interest at heart. Your bankruptcy lawyer is there to answer any question you might have regarding your bankruptcy petition. Since Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the favored option to file for bankruptcy, your lawyer will most likely try to get you to qualify for chapter 7 before even thinking about Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
When you work with your bankruptcy lawyer, you want to make sure that your lawyer knows about all the creditors that you owe money to. Furnish the lawyer with the statements of these creditors so that the lawyer can comprise the debt as part of the bankruptcy filing. Only after your lawyer has all the facts about your finances, then he/she will be able to execute all the relevant tests to see if you can qualify for the Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The lawyer will try to get you qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. The quick test is to make sure that your income for the last 6 months is at or below the state’s median income level. If your income for the last 6 months equate to lower than the state’s median income level, your lawyer will be able apply Chapter 7 bankruptcy on your behalf.
The lawyer can still use the “means test” to quailify you for Chapter 7 bankruptcy even if your income is higher than the state’s median income level. The purpose of the “means test” is to determine if should apply Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is largely for those who has no disposable income to pay back its creditors.
If the bankruptcy lawyer determines that you are not eligible for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, then you can only for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is less ideal than Chapter 7 because it forces you to repay some of the debt that the creditors is seeking to recoup. Once you have repaid all the agreed amount in the Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing, you will be debt free and you will become the lawful owner of the assets tied to the debt obligations.
Steve Sanchez has recently overcome the economic depression of 2008-2009 by declaring bankruptcy. Even though bankruptcy has devastated Steve financially and emotionally, Steve has rebuilt his businesses in the last 6 months and he has not looked back since.One of his project is to educate people on bankruptcy. Having gone through the ordeal himself, he has first hand knowledge of the pros and cons of filing for bankruptcy protection. Please visit his site http://ToFileBankruptcyOrNot.com if you want additional information regarding bankruptcy.
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