Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Why You Should Employ a Bankruptcy Lawyer to File Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy can be an overwhelming blow to an individual, a small business, or even a multi-million dollar corporation. The allocation of funds, the audits, the creditor claims, and the claiming of assets may be too much for the whole staff to handle, leave alone a single individual. More and more people are filing and declaring bankruptcy when faced with unmanageable multiple debts.

More than 2 million people filed for bankruptcy in the United States in 2006. It is extremely important to know when to file bankruptcy and what to do after bankruptcy. A bankruptcy lawyer will help you to set your assets in order and smoothly take care of the filing for bankruptcy.

File for bankruptcy with the right legal help
Under the new Bankruptcy Act of 2005, credit counseling or other options may be required. Finance professionals generally suggest that you assess your financial situation before filing for bankruptcy, as often debtors file bankruptcy without first exploring other options to settle their debts. However, if it is unavoidable, they advise debtors to seek professional help such as financial lawyers to help them understand the process and its effects. You also need to get familiar with new bankruptcy law even though you are taking legal help.

Filing for bankruptcy is complex for average people
The proceedings involved in bankruptcy are supervised by and litigated in the United States Bankruptcy Courts. There are several bankruptcy codes in America and it is very stringent regarding how to file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy codes are very confusing and deal with all of the many different classes of bankruptcy that a business or person can file. It's important to note that even though people can file different bankruptcy forms, there is only one prime bankruptcy code which deals with all of the different types of bankruptcy in the United States of America. The bankruptcy attorney decides which chapter of the code best fits the situation and accordingly he will decide to file under chapter 13 or chapter 7.

5 Helpful Tips to select Bankruptcy Attorney
1. You should contact local bar association to get a list of lawyers in your community who specialize specifically in the practice of bankruptcy law. If you are filing a personal bankruptcy case, you need to select a lawyer who is specialist in personal bankruptcy.

2. You should do your research on bankruptcy and bankruptcy lawyer in internet. You can plenty of newspaper articles, bar association notices and other information about lawyers.

3. You also should concentrate on word of mouth information. You need to listen what your friends, family members and colleagues have to say about one attorney or another.

4. You need to personally meet your lawyer before employing him. Lawyer should be attentive to you and understand your current situation.

5. Before finalizing the attorney, you need to check her fee structure. This will help you to bring order to your chaotic financial house both in the short and the long term.

A bankruptcy lawyer is well worth his cost. It will pay rich dividends through peace of mind, simplifying the procedures and probably actual money saved in following your bankruptcy attorney's advice.

Here, we are talking about bankruptcy that will be on your credit report for 10 years - spend the money to get a serious and reputed bankruptcy attorney who will work for you, not for his or her own self interests.

About the Author

Are you bankrupt and trying to get homeloan? Here you will find excellent information on home loans after bankruptcy. Author is an financial planner of 10 years experience.