What happens when I hire a bankruptcy attorney?
How long does bankruptcy take?
I’m in the middle of a divorce. Does that affect when you can file my bankruptcy case?
Will everyone know that I filed bankruptcy?
Q: What happens when I hire a bankruptcy attorney?
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In our office, once you retain us as your bankruptcy attorneys, we start working on the paperwork required to file your bankruptcy. It’s a team effort. You have a little homework, it’s not too hard, but you are going to gather some information such as your tax returns, pay stubs and bank statements.
The most important difference is now you have an attorney defending your rights. All those calls you’ve been getting? Now you get to say “I have an attorney now, don’t contact me, and deal with my attorney” and then you give them our phone number. Federal and Florida law requires that they stop bothering you and deal ONLY with us. You get your phone back while we deal with a couple of hundred of those phone calls every week.
While no one strives to go bankrupt, once you have made that decision, you get relief from your creditors that very day! Don’t you wish all your decisions were that easy?
To schedule your free no obligation consultation call us at 305-663-3281 at any time.
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Q: How long does bankruptcy take?
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In some cases, we have had people retain us on Monday and filed that Friday. Other cases the client has requested that we wait two years after our clients retained our services to file their case because that is what made sense in their case.. Different clients have different needs, which determine the best time for filing. If someone is trying to save a house that has a pending sale date, we can help save their house by filing bankruptcy immediately. Or we might wait to fie a case because the client is in the middle of an endless loan modification. In that case we might wait to file their case in order to achieve the best result for our client. In the meantime we are protecting them from their creditors. So when do we file? It’s really up to you.
Then how long does it take from time we file your case until your debts are wiped out? In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy (the most common type of bankruptcy) , it usually takes about three months. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a different process and usually takes longer in order to establish a plan that is best for the client.
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Q: I’m in the middle of a divorce. Does that affect when you can file my bankruptcy case?
Depending on the situation, we may wait until the divorce settlement has been decided. Issues such as child support and alimony can have a significant effect on which type of bankruptcy is the right choice for you.
There have been instances where bankruptcy can stop a divorce, because the couple realizes that the biggest threat to the marriage, the thing they fought about most, were their financial problems. Certainly worrying about mounting credit card debt, house foreclosure and harassing creditor phone calls can add tremendous pressure to a marriage. Once we were able to resolve these stresses through bankruptcy, the couple can redirect that energy to rebuilding their relationship and starting over.
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Q: Will everyone know that I filed bankruptcy?
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Unless you're a famous person and the case is picked up by the media, chances are very good that the general public will not know that you filed bankruptcy.
Your bankruptcy is a public record, as is every law suit you have ever been a part of, your home loan, even your car registration! If somebody wanted to find out everything about you, they probably could logon to the federal court system, put your name in and find out that you filed bankruptcy however most sane people do not have the time or the inclination to go to such lengths
I've never had a client come back to me and say, "Oh, all my coworkers know that I filed" or "It's on the news", and that includes quite a few famous clients. I've never had any reporters at the courthouse asking my clients about their bankruptcy, so if you are worried about a being scarred with a big scarlet letter “B”, I wouldn’t worry about it, instead focus on the relief and savings that bankruptcy can bring to you and your family.
To schedule your free no obligation consultation call us at 305-663-3281 at any time.
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