All About Bankruptcy Lawyers
All about bankruptcy lawyers
“At that darkest moment, while drowning in the Abyss of Emotional Bankruptcy, reflect on this universal truth: the difference between success and failure is one more time.”
― Ken Poirot
After 1978, bankruptcy lawyers moved up in the legal system, with fees, and have today risen to great heights. No matter what their proposal and nature of work is, it is no secret that when it comes to wealth and money and the loss of it, bankruptcy lawyers are worth every penny.
In case of bankruptcy, the first thing that comes to mind is where to find a good bankruptcy lawyer near me.
Why hire a bankruptcy lawyer?
- We all need a lawyer whose priority is to get their client out of bankruptcy smoothly, following all rules and regulations and adhering to the law.
- Getting out of bankruptcy and starting afresh with business is what bankruptcy lawyers promise, and one looks forward to getting their life back together.
- Bankruptcy lawyers will provide handy tips that can help in the long run, enabling their clients to avoid such a dreadful situation again.
What does bankruptcy mean?
- Bankruptcy is a financial state of an individual or a company, where the owner is neither able to honor their financial obligations nor pay back the loans taken from creditors.
- In such a situation, the owner of the company can choose to either solve their financial crisis through other means, or they can go through the legal course of filing a petition in the court for the same to redeem themselves from the obligation of debts, where all the outstanding debts are calculated and paid off partly or fully from the assets of the company.
- In such cases, the client’s first priority and thought is where to find a bankruptcy lawyer near me.
How is a bankruptcy case begun?
- In order to begin a case of bankruptcy, usually, the petition needs to be filed by the debtor with the bankruptcy court.
- An individual, partners, or an entity can file it.
- The filing of the petition can either be done by a lawyer or by oneself, which is called “filing pro se”.
How does filing a bankruptcy petition help?
- Filing a bankruptcy petition can bring resolution to the individual or the company by discarding debt and making plans to repay them.
- However, while filing a bankruptcy case, one has to gather enough knowledge before taking any steps, because lack of knowledge of the federal laws will result in unnecessary complications, which might take away one’s individual rights.
- All cases of bankruptcy are tackled in the federal courts in accordance with the laws outlined in the Bankruptcy Code of the country.
What are the roles of a bankruptcy lawyer?
- If wondering where to find a bankruptcy lawyer near me, when approached for consultation, they will seek permission to evaluate financial records in order to understand the financial status, examine the financial goals, analyze the depth of debt and generally, where the client stands financially.
- A lawyer would also make suggestions of multiple options to relieve the debt that may resolve the crisis.
- The attorney would assist the client in determining whether filing for bankruptcy is what needs to be done. If it does come to that, they also help decide what chapter suits the most, chapter 7, chapter 11, or chapter 13. However, filing a bankruptcy petition should only be used as a last resort.
- A bankruptcy lawyer will start handling all the calls received from the creditors right from the time they are hired, even before the bankruptcy case has been filed.
- Once the attorney comes to a conclusion that filing a bankruptcy petition is the only way out, they would prepare and file a petition on the client’s behalf. Preparing and filing a bankruptcy petition is one of the most complicated steps of the process.
- The bankruptcy petition form consists of information of all the creditors and the details of the debts taken by the owner of the company, and these forms are filed with the bankruptcy court.
- The lawyer would file the final, signed petition version with the bankruptcy court once it’s reviewed by the client. From the time the petition is filed at the court, the client is protected from all the creditors.
- Post the process of the bankruptcy petition being filed at the court, the lawyer would prepare the client to attend the 341 meeting of the creditors, which would be held after 30-45 days of filing the bankruptcy case. The lawyer would discuss all the potential financial issues and assist on how to respond to the questions asked by the trustees.
- One of the duties of the bankruptcy lawyer is to review, negotiate, and sign all and any reaffirmation agreements on secured properties, such as house or cars that the client would want to retain.
- The reaffirmation agreement, also known as a new contract filed with the bankruptcy court, allows retaining the terms and conditions in an unchanged fashion in the existing contract with a creditor. Most of the Chapter 7 bankruptcy filers choose to reaffirm their cars and house and continue to make payments for the secured property.
- Based on the local bankruptcy laws, the lawyer may also be willing to make additional appearances in the court, as and when required.