Filing For Bankruptcy - Not A Do It Yourself Project

If you are having financial problems, have little property, and little money, you may be thinking of filing for bankruptcy by yourself. I would suggest that you not do that, but that you get a lawyer to handle it for you. Here's why.

It is not difficult to look on the internet a learn something about personal bankruptcy. For instance, you can easily find out that there are two types of personal bankruptcy: Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. You can easily find out what the qualification are for filing both types. And you can fairly easily learn about the types of debts (secured and unsecured, etc.) and what can happen to some property.

However, it is difficult and time consuming to learn and understand the details of bankruptcy. In fact, most lawyers will not handle a bankruptcy case and, if they have a bankruptcy question, they call a bankruptcy lawyer.

It is also difficult and time consuming to learn and understand how all of the different "parts" of bankruptcy fit together and affect each other. People think that the all bankruptcy law is written in one place and that all they have to do is look at the one place. Since bankruptcy is a federal law, people think that all a person needs to do is look at Title 11 of the United States Code and they have it. This is wrong.

Actually, personal bankruptcy is greatly affected by state law in a number of ways. First, property exemptions for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy are usually based on state law. Second, debts and the collection of debts are governed by state law. With houses, some states have mortgages while other states have deeds of trust. Some states have non-judicial foreclosure while other states have judicial foreclosure. With judgments, all states have time limits, but the time limits vary. Some states allow judgments to be renewed and other states do not allow extensions.

The point is that personal bankruptcy is all about debts and property which are controlled by state laws. If a person does not know and understand state laws, he will be lost at the very beginning of the bankruptcy process.

Even if someone thinks that he has a good understanding of state laws concerning debts and property, he must still understand that there are rules that must be followed when filing for bankruptcy. Again, the thought is that it is all in one place. Again, this is wrong. There are standard national rules for filing bankruptcy that include required forms and time frames with which to complied. However, personal bankruptcies are filed in the federal district court for the area in which the debtor lives. Each district court has it's own rules with forms and time frames with which the debtor must also comply.

During the bankruptcy case, there are actions that either must be taken or may be taken to obtain a good result for the debtor.

The bottom line is that it is a good idea to have a bankruptcy attorney handle your case.

This is general information. If you need specific information or have any questions of any nature whatsoever, talk with a lawyer licensed in your state.

For more general information, see Bankruptcy. For more detailed information see filing bankruptcy.

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