Brian Joneta

A bankruptcy attorney begins his role on your case by first assessing your financial situation. Based on this he will be able to advice you on whether filing for bankruptcy is a good idea or not. He will try and apply all the alternatives to your case to see if any work.

Filing for bankruptcy is not an easy decision to make. That is what makes it necessary for you to know all the facts involved. If you are considering bankruptcy, do so after educating yourself well on the process and all it involves.

One of the first things you need to do is to come to terms with the fact that you have declared bankruptcy. Once done, you have to face all the consequences that come along with it.

If you fail to pass the means test, then you will have to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 13. What this essentially does is create a repayment plan for you which will be spread across 3 to 5 years.

With some persuasion you will be able to waive off some of the debt or the interest that has accumulated on it in exchange for making steady repayments. Bigger creditors know the problems associated with debt collection and the hassles with employing a debt collection agency.

By declaring personal bankruptcy you are also liable to pay a fee that is associated with bankruptcy. These include fees that you have to pay in the court and also the fee that you require to pay to the lawyer. A bankruptcy attorney may cost you several thousand dollars.

Bankruptcy is generally filed under Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Though Chapter 7 can discharge a considerable amount of debt but in most cases it will force a liquidation of the entire assets of individuals declaring the bankruptcy.

People who are under great burden of debt generally have two choices when filing bankruptcy. They can declare Bankruptcy either under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. Declaration of bankruptcy under Chapter 7 allows you to seek forgiveness of most debts, file the same declaration under Chapter 13 will lower the debt amount and each structure them into a repayment plan which will be court-supervised. It is important that you have the knowledge of right regulations to successfully declare bankruptcy.

The main aim behind the bankruptcy code is providing security to creditors who have various interests in income and property of the debtor. This does not mean that just anyone who has some property interest in the debtor's estate can claim relief from automatic stay. The relief can only be sought by secured creditors, those who have tort claims or those who are actually the co-owners of the estate.

The creditor may file application for liquidating the personal assets of the debtor. The cost of litigation is one more reason why people hesitate to apply for bankruptcy.