Spokane Bankruptcy Attorneys Offer Much Needed Relief
Finding the right Spokane bankruptcy attorney is useful for making an initial determination of your financial circumstances. Bankruptcy tends to bring up some pretty nasty images. You may think you’ll have to hand over the keys to your house to creditors or even end up penniless in the streets.
Realistically, bankruptcy is a great way to avoid losing any of your assets while also getting out of whatever financial burdens are haunting you.
In other words, declaring bankruptcy can be the life jacket you’re looking for if you’re drowning in debt.
However, declaring bankruptcy if you cannot pay the minimum debt dues isn’t that simple.
You’ll need to determine if bankruptcy is the correct path for your circumstances, which kind to file, and how much time you have to complete the process. This is where having a Spokane bankruptcy attorney is most helpful.
It may seem wise to go this avenue alone, but we’d recommend otherwise. Most bankruptcy filings done “pro se” (or by yourself) don’t end up with most or all debts discharged.
On the other hand, having a lawyer represent your case has a near 100% success rate with chapter 7 cases and a 40% success rate with chapter 13 (more on that later).
Because of this data, it’s clear why a Spokane bankruptcy attorney is one of the best ways to undergo the whole process.
However, just because a bankruptcy lawyer is the best choice when filing for bankruptcy doesn’t mean you necessarily need one.
Filing for Bankruptcy: The Benefits & Dangers
Determining when to file bankruptcy and when to avoid it comes down to the specifics of your financial state.
Generally speaking, it’s only wise to go ahead and declare bankruptcy when you have outstanding debts and no feasible way of paying them off.
If you’ve been making only the minimum payments on credit cards, lost track of how much money you owe and to whom, and find yourself owing more to creditors than you can pay, bankruptcy could be a solid option.
But that doesn’t mean it’s the only or even the best option.
A definite con to filing for bankruptcy is that it has a massive impact on your credit score. Depending on which type of bankruptcy you file, it can stay with you for as long as ten years.
Before you go off and hire a Spokane bankruptcy attorney (or make the mistake of doing it yourself), take a moment to reassess.
You may be able to reach a debt settlement with any companies you own money to. Alternatively, you could also begin liquidating any assets to dig yourself out of whatever financial hole you’ve found yourself in.
However, if you’ve still found yourself backed into a corner by debt, we recommend moving on to the next step and finding out which type of bankruptcy is going to best serve you.
Finding out Which kind of Bankruptcy is Optimal for You
Bankruptcy can take on many forms, but for most individuals, bankruptcy is frequently filed as either chapter 7 or chapter 13.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy is pretty standard for most folks needing financial relief. Simply put, a trustee evaluates your assets and liquidates them to repay any outstanding debts.
After any remaining payments are either partially or entirely paid off, your debts will be formally discharged. So you’re in the clear (more or less) from that point on!
Exempt assets and properties can avoid liquidation during this process, such as cars, household goods, clothing, and potentially even your home. However, this is all subject to a court’s final approval.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a different approach to having a court discharge your debts. This filing process often involves a court-approved payment plan which takes the individual 3-5 years to complete.
At the end of the payment plan, most outstanding debts will be discharged if you haven’t missed any payments.
Chapter 13 is best for those who still have a source of income but have a trickier time making minimum payments.
What Makes a Great Spokane Bankruptcy Attorney?
Now that you’ve got a solid idea about which kind of bankruptcy you may need to file, it’s time to look at what you should expect from a Spokane bankruptcy attorney.
As we discussed earlier, filing bankruptcy pro se is not the best idea. Bankruptcy is complex and nuanced, and it’s essential to have someone on your team who can help you navigate those waters.
A solid Spokane bankruptcy attorney will likely schedule a consultation with you to assess whether bankruptcy is your best option. If they conclude that it is, however, they’ll guide you through the subsequent phases of your filing process.
To sum it up, you’re in good hands if you’ve got a Spokane bankruptcy attorney handling all the necessary paperwork and providing excellent representation if the case goes to court.
To be honest, we don’t really recommend trying to find a cheap bankruptcy attorney. You certainly don’t want to be overpaying when you’re facing a situation as serious as a bankruptcy, but you also shouldn’t try to find the absolute lowest cost attorney possible. If you do a search for terms such as “cheap bankruptcy Spokane” you might think you’re going to save a few bucks, but the real issue is that the firms you find are likely not the best options to handle your case.
The best Spokane bankruptcy lawyers should provide you with a clear understanding of your finances and peace of mind. Spokane.Law is the easiest way to find all of them. Our online directory is a simple and fast way to review the best law firms in the area.
We’re still getting started, but with some additional research, this is a solid resource to help you find a Spokane bankruptcy attorney suited to your needs. To that end, until we’ve collected every local attorney listing we can, you should check out Expertise. They offer a very reliable national directory that we’re fond of.
One of the top local providers of bankruptcy law assistance in Spokane currently is Wallace and Karson Law Spokane.
You can also try a few local searches on Google or Bing for terms such as "debt lawyer near me" or "business attorney near me". That should get you some relevant options if you don't have as much luck with terms like "bankruptcy attorney".
