If you’re thinking about filing for bankruptcy, you’re probably at the end of your financial rope. You have been overwhelmed by a mountain of credit card debt, medical bills, mortgage payments, or all the above. You probably can’t imagine yourself taking on any more financial responsibilities or having to pay any additional fees at all.
With this in mind, you might be considering trying to file bankruptcy on your own. Well, don’t.
Going through bankruptcy by yourself may have been easier in the past. I’m not saying it was ever a great idea, but it may have been more feasible back then.
However, things have changed dramatically for better or for worse. In 2005, Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. If this sounds like a mouthful, it certainly is.
The law is even more complicated than the name would suggest, which is why it is so important to have adequate legal counsel by your side at all times. A good lawyer can help you navigate the maze that is the bankruptcy reform law.
Consumer advocates, who disagreed strongly with this law, refer to it as the Bankruptcy Abuse Reform Fiasco (or barf). For the purpose of this article, whether this law is a good thing or not is actually beside the point.
The bankruptcy lawyer can help you decide how the law applies to your particular situation, since there are so many details and restrictions. This is simply too complex for a layperson to handle in most cases.
Save yourself some trouble and go find yourself a good bankruptcy lawyer to discuss the case with.