Laid Off? Can’t Pay Your Bills?
You’re not the only one In today’s economy, more and more of us are living from paycheck to paycheck; and the spector of unemployment looms over all of us. Let’s face, things aren’t good, times are tough. The banks, the stock brokers, the insurance business and even the automobile industry have all been bailed out by the Feds, now it’s your turn!
Fortunately, there’s a bailout available to you, the” little guy”. It’s called bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is a legal process to eliminates your debts
What Goes Away
Harassing Phone Calls From Collection Agencies
Foreclosure on Your Home
Credit Card Debts
Medical Expenses
Amounts Owed Under Court Judgments
Your Mortgage (IF you choose to walk away from the house)
Your Automobile Note (IF you choose to walk away from your car)
In the strange but true category, once you file for bankruptcy, you will receive dozens and dozens ofoffers from car dealers to sell you a brand new car, many times at better terms than you currently have. Often, by going bankrupt, you can actually upgrade your vehicle.
What You Keep
Your Automobile (in most cases)
Your Home (in most cases)
Your Utilities
Your Job
Your Stuff
Your Pension
The main reasonpeople like you are reluctant to consider bankruptcyis because the negative stigma associated to it, that it’s somehow dishonest. Well, STOP IT. You OWE it to yourself to at least consider bankruptcy’s benefits.
Normally, I’m not a big fan of lawyers, but I strongly suggest hiring a lawyer to handle your bankruptcy. Of course, the choice is yours. But at the very least, talk to a bankruptcy attorney. Almost all of them offer a free consultation during which they will lay out your options so that you can make an informed choice as to whether bankruptcy makes sense to you, and if it does, whether it’s something you can do yourself.
For those of you who’ve never sat it bankruptcy court, here’s how it works. The Judge who will decide for or against your bankruptcy is paid by the case (around $50), so they want to clear as many cases as possible during the day. In reality, this means they’ll spend about eight minutes on your case. As long as everything is filled out correctly, you’ll probably be granted your bankruptcy. That means you’ve dotted all your I’s and crossed all your T’s. It means ALL of your figures are correct and within their respective thresholds. You want no red flags and you want to have an immediate answer in case there is a question! If you’ve messed up on any of these things the best you can hope for is another chance after a waiting period, in the worst case your bankruptcy petition will be denied and you’re screwed. I’ve seen bad lawyers get chewed out for screwing up, and their clients suffer for it. Rarely, have I seen a do-it-yourself bankruptcy go smoothly. They seem to average three attempts in court before a verdict.
Remember too, that each state has their own bankruptcy laws. For that reason it makes sense to retain a Los Angeles Bankruptcy Attorney WHO PROVIDES FREE CONSULTATIONS if you live in Los Angeles. For a qualified bankruptcy attorney in your state, My Credit Hell provides a list of board certified bankruptcy attorneys in your state offering FREE CONSULTATIONS.
