2 Reasons That Choosing A Full Service Law Firm Is Better When Filing For Bankruptcy

Posted on: 23 January 2015

If you are as busy as many people are today and are considering bankruptcy, it is important to hire the right full service law firm, such as Kelley M. Petry. One of the most stressful aspects of declaring bankruptcy is often procuring verification of each debt. If the financial difficulty has existed for some time, then there could be hundreds of small and large debts from a variety of creditors, dating back years. Fortunately, if you are clear about your concerns during an initial consultation with your attorney, you will find it easy to hire a firm that can help you track down your debts. 

They Will Run A Credit Report

One of the first things that will often be done while preparing to file your application for bankruptcy is a credit check. It is an easy way to access exact dollar amounts and contact information for your creditors, so they can be informed of the proceedings.  However, there is another reason for doing so as well and assessing it with an attorney may allow you to catch details that you would miss on your own. 

When you have a lot of debt, it is easy to not want to see the bad news that your credit report lists. Regardless, you should do so because it is always possible that some debts have been erroneously listed. You don't want to be held responsible for debts on your credit that were not yours, debts that are listed more than once or expired debt-so take a close look with your lawyer.

Evaluate Your Financial And Credit Position

Given that there are different types of bankruptcies for companies and individuals, as well as different types based on your total assets and debts, deciding the most appropriate way to declare bankruptcy is not always easy. When meeting with a full service law firm that works with bankruptcy, you should expect a clear explanation of what option is recommended for you and why.

If you own your own business and have only a few or no employees, your application for bankruptcy would be obviously be very different from that of a large company owing millions in debts , with access to employee's retirement funds. As a single or married person, you will see that there are financial concerns that limit Chapter 7 bankruptcy to people under a certain income and debt level, as determined by the state in which you file.  Chapter 13 is often suggested when there is a higher income and the possibility of paying back at least some of the debt over several years exists.

In conclusion, it only makes sense that when you are declaring bankruptcy, you should never do so by yourself or without the steady hand of an experienced bankruptcy attorney. In theory, you could save money by doing it on your own and only getting minimum input from a distracted attorney, but bankruptcy is too important of a decision to risk doing it wrong. Bankruptcy is a fresh start for you and your family-so do it right.

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