Not Necessary To Hire A Bankruptcy Attorney With Chapter 7
When looking at the means test and the current recession, two factors in a simple analysis jump out at you and both are designed to punish consumers for factors beyond their control. First, the consumer’s income for the test is based on the prior six months. In a declining economy, this virtually always means the consumer’s income will be overstated. It will imply that they can afford to repay something or repay more if they filed Chapter 13 when they no longer can. It is up to the Justice Department and the courts to minimize the impact on such unjust measurement methods. A second problem awaits as well. If the state’s economy is in decline, the state’s median income may begin to decline. We have not yet seen this occur on a broad scale during this recession. But if the recession continues for a long time, we may well see real declines in median household incomes. Unfortunately, the cost of living shows no sign of coming down accordingly, though. If your income did not decline at the same pace as your neighbors, even if you have no more money left each month, you may have fewer options and one of them might not be filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
If you’re thinking about filing bankruptcy, seek out consumer credit counseling services in your state to get some advice before you start with the process. Consumers can find free help fight going to their state’s website or guidelines that apply to residents. These services are free. Try to do as much on your own as you can because hiring a bankruptcy attorney can cost you about $3000 to file bankruptcy for you. If you can’t figure out how to get started and have no access to a computer, call your town or city government and ask for help locating someone who can advise you on bankruptcy filing. Usually libraries have computers you can use for free and you can go online and look for low-cost do-it-yourself Bankruptcy service. If you decide to go this route, make sure you check out who you hire with consumer groups like the Better Business Bureau. There are many good ones out there but there are also bad ones that will take your money and give you no follow-up support. The best thing about filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy after the discharge comes, you’ll be debt-free and get their fresh start that you so dearly need.
