How a Bankruptcy Lawyer Can Help You

Bankruptcy laws can be quite confusing for the average consumer, even in those states that have their bankruptcy forms online. It is always best to retain a bankruptcy lawyer, as he can help you choose which form of bankruptcy best fits your situation.

richmond va bankruptcy lawyers

If you are a business trying to file bankruptcy, some states require that you retain a bankruptcy lawyerfor ongoing issues that will likely arise.

There are seven different ways to file bankruptcy, and all of them fall under the U.S. Code (Title 11 – Bankruptcy Code). Bankruptcy lawyers can also help you stop receiving harassing calls from creditors.

There are rules in the Bankruptcy Code that creditors must also follow.

The two types of bankruptcy are liquidation and debtor rehabilitation. The bankruptcy chapters cover both, plus bankruptcy for businesses, municipalities, and a separate chapter (Chapter 12) for the adjustment of debts of a farmer with a regular income.

Bankruptcies are filed in the Federal Court for the district you live in. Depending on the state and the size of your county, the federal court may cover more than one county, and is usually located in one of the larger cities in the county or group of counties.

The bankruptcy court now prefers the filings to be done electronically – another good reason to hire a bankruptcy attorney. If your bankruptcy pleadings are filed electronically, they are processed much faster than if you were to file a paper set of pleadings. Bankruptcy lawyers also have the proper software.

A bankruptcy lawyer, after helping you decide on the best type of bankruptcy for your situation, will enter all of the information regarding your assets and liabilities into the software. The software then creates the pleadings in the format required by the bankruptcy court.

This greatly scales down the number of mistakes that may be made in filling out the pleadings, including legibility errors (where the Court may not be able to read your handwriting).

Once the bankruptcy pleadings have been filed, the bankruptcy clerk will forward various due dates and hearing dates. For certain bankruptcies, you may also be required to attend a debt counseling session. One of the hearings that is required by the bankruptcy court is a “Meeting of Creditors.”

Your creditors can attend and explain to the court why they should not be included in the bankruptcy and that you should pay the bill immediately. Bankruptcy attorneys help you through that process and, with knowledge of the law, can represent you in any communications with your creditors.

Furthermore, an lawyer is not emotionally tied to the proceedings, and can easily help you traverse through the bankruptcy maze. Bankruptcies can often be handled by general practice lawyers or a family attorney.





richmond bankruptcy lawyers