Do Not Let Too Much Debt Make Your Life Miserable!
Don’t wait to explore Bankruptcy options, or to file a Bankruptcy:
One client hired me after a consultation over a year ago, at which time I advised he should file a bankruptcy case, but that he should probably wait a couple of months to let more time go by since the last time charges were made on his credit cards (which is sometimes advisable to avoid possible objections). However, eligibility to file bankruptcy, particularly Chapter 7, depends on both your income for the 6 months before filing, as well as your current income when your case is filed. Around seven or eight months after his first consultation with me, my client received a job offer that paid a decent amount. My client clearly qualified under the so-called Bankruptcy Means Test to file a Chapter 7 due to his income level. He had not started the new job when one of his creditors finally filed a lawsuit. Understandably, my client telephoned me and indicated that he was ready to file Chapter 7 after he was served with the lawsuit. However, due to the new job, he no longer qualified for Chapter 7, and due to his delay, he was looking at a substantial repayment plan in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case instead. Now this, of course, is not a disaster, but it ended up costing him more in attorneys’ fees, plus about $45,000 in payments towards his credit cards that he could now afford due to the new job. If he had filed when I advised, he would be able to save that $45,000! There are a lot more examples I could provide, but it is important to understand the consequences of waiting too long to file a case. You must be realistic in your assessment of those risks and to discuss them with your attorney. This, of course, assumes one has already had a consultation with an attorney. I can refer to a number of examples relating to people who wait too long to even seek an initial consultation about their financial situation and cause great financial harm to themselves. Please do not wait too long.