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One of the most frequent questions that any Washington bankruptcy attorney is asked during an initial consultation is whether or not someone contemplating filing for bankruptcy can keep their car. For the most part, the answer is yes.

In the vast majority of situations, clients who want to keep their car and who have the ability to stay current on their monthly payments are able to retain their automobile after filing for bankruptcy in Pierce County, Washington. Depending on whether you are filing a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and depending on whether you utilize the federal exemptions or the state exemptions, their is typically a way to safeguard any equity in your vehicle from being seized by the trustee.

Continue reading ‘Keeping Your Cars in Bankruptcy’ »

The record numbers of bankruptcy filings in the past year have opened the doors for a whole slew of less than qualified “debt consultants” to take advantage of the situation. These people pray on people who are in desperate need of help and promise they can take care of everything. Many time these “consultants” make things worse than they were before. There have even been instances where the consultants have taken money upfront and left town the next day only to leave to people filing out several hundred, if not thousand, and still no where near getting out of debt.

Tip 1: Don’t wait

A lot of times people are hesitant to admit that they need help. They put off going to an attorney until it is almost too late. Doing this does not give the attorney adequate time to prepare you case and file all the necessary paperwork to the courts. The best thing to do is when you think you might need to file a bankruptcy is to go see a bankruptcy attorney. This will make things go a whole lot smoother in the long run.

Tip 2: Ask around

A reference from someone who has gone through the whole process is usually the best place to start. However, many times you will not know too many people who have filed for bankruptcy. Using the Internet can be a good resource for referrals, but understand that Internet reviews are usually slanted. It is proven that people are more likely to post a bad review about a company than a good one. Keeping this in mind, unless they have a large amount of bad reviews across multiple sites an attorney with only one or two bad reviews might not be bad at all. Continue reading ‘5 Tips to Avoid Hiring a Bad Bankruptcy Attorney’ »

Filing bankruptcy is a scary and tedious process. A person forced to file bankruptcy is emotionally spent and unable to deal with the necessities, filings, and handlings of a bankruptcy case. It is draining and impossible to stay on top of it unless you are a bankruptcy lawyer. But, how do you find the right bankruptcy lawyer? What are the guidelines to follow when hiring one? Here are a few tips on how to choose the right bankruptcy attorney for you.

Attorney Bar Association

Where do you start when searching for a bankruptcy attorney? The yellow pages do not cut it during these tragic situations, so why not contact your local attorney bar association. Call your local bar association and enquire regarding who sits on the bankruptcy court panels in your area. Generally, the attorneys on the bankruptcy court panels are experts in the field adding to the confidence level you should have in him/her when selecting someone in this manner. This will help narrow down your selection in an effective manner.

References

Unfortunately, more people have filed bankruptcy in 2009 than in past years and it shall only increase as we approach 2010. Thus, ask around. Find out who has handled bankruptcy related issues amongst your relatives, friends and loved ones. Ask around your area. For dealing with bankruptcy is difficult and you do not want to make it worse on your family by choosing a lawyer who is not an expert in the field. You need someone with a reputable history of success in handling it with ease. Questioning those you know in similar scenarios is a great way to find out about an attorney before hiring him/her. Continue reading ‘Top 5 Tips on How to Find a Bankruptcy Attorney’ »

The first and foremost thought you might have, when filing for bankruptcy is locating an inexpensive bankruptcy attorney. Certainly, you need to protect your assets as much as you can. However, the consequence of going in for a low-cost bankruptcy lawyer could be far less than you would have thought at the initial stage. Bankruptcy law is one of the particularized areas in the legal field that can present various complexities than it emerges to the outsider. Hiring, thus, the wrong bankruptcy lawyer will just put your life in peril. Refer to the following recommendations to find a certified lawyer with considerable experience in bankruptcy law.

There are several ways of locating certified bankruptcy lawyers; the bankruptcy attorney directory is one of the sources you can refer to come up with a good list of legal candidates. Interview each one of them in anticipation of connecting with the one who goes well with you. The lawyer should answer your questions on bankruptcy. Prior to scheduling a meeting with the attorney, make sure that you write down your bankruptcy questions in order not to miss gathering information that are important to you. The initial meeting with the lawyer of bankruptcy should be an occasion to the lawyer to determine your current financial situation, the implications of your choices and your goals. It should give you the opportunity to determine if you can cooperate with the bankruptcy attorney and if your case is approached in the way you wanted. Ask how many years the lawyer has in bankruptcy law and what section of the bankruptcy cases involve clients like you. Continue reading ‘Are You Declaring Bankruptcy? Finding A Bankruptcy Attorney Made Easy!’ »

Many people are struggling to regain their financial footing and don’t know if there is any way out. They have looked at bankruptcy as an option, but they are scared of what the future holds. Is there any way out of overwhelming debt, or is bankruptcy the only option?

Well, bankruptcy is certainly not the only option, but it really depends on your particular circumstances. No one can decide that but you, although the help of a professional financial advisor and bankruptcy attorney would be helpful.

One lawyer told me that you should ask yourself whether you can expect to pay off your debt in the next two years by making reasonable adjustments to your budget. In other words, can you make financial sacrifices and pay off your debt in the next few years without living in what for you would be unreasonable conditions? Now I know the answer is subjective, because you may have different standards of living in your mind as you read this. However, the point is that you have to make reasonable sacrifices. Continue reading ‘Are There Alternatives to Bankruptcy?’ »

Bankruptcy is a very real situation that can happen to anyone. Even rich people who have huge savings in their bank accounts can fall victim to bankruptcy if they do not pay attention to their way of life. Getting stuck in a debt problem is a serious matter. If you find yourself in any of the following situations, it would be best to address the problem right away. Here are the ten signs that you need to talk to a bankruptcy attorney, immediately.

Your expenses offset you monthly income.
Stop and take an objective look on your spending. Do you spend more than what you actually earn in a month? It could be easy to deny this fact. However, the best way to answer this question is to calculate all your monthly expenses in detail. List them down, every little cent you spend in a month should be included, be honest.

After calculating the sum total of all your expenses, subtract it from your salary, and you should be able to come up with an accurate answer to the question. Continue reading ‘10 Signs You Need to Talk to a Bankruptcy Attorney’ »

Bankruptcy is a very real situation that can happen to anyone. Even rich people who have huge savings in their bank accounts can fall victim to bankruptcy if they do not pay attention to their way of life. Getting stuck in a debt problem is a serious matter. If you find yourself in any of the following situations, it would be best to address the problem right away. Here are the ten signs that you need to talk to a bankruptcy attorney, immediately.

Your expenses offset you monthly income.
Stop and take an objective look on your spending. Do you spend more than what you actually earn in a month? It could be easy to deny this fact. However, the best way to answer this question is to calculate all your monthly expenses in detail. List them down, every little cent you spend in a month should be included, be honest.

After calculating the sum total of all your expenses, subtract it from your salary, and you should be able to come up with an accurate answer to the question.

Continue reading ‘10 Signs You Need to Talk to a Bankruptcy Attorney’ »