Lots of people who live in the self-proclaimed city of brotherly love have sought the legal advice of a Philadelphia bankruptcy lawyer in order to understand more about how the entire bankruptcy process works. Having a Philadelphia bankruptcy lawyer help you assess and evaluate your situation can be extremely helpful and beneficial at the end of the day, especially for first time filers. Oftentimes filers may experience a foreign feeling with all of the complicated legal jargon associated with the federal bankruptcy process. A Philadelphia bankruptcy lawyer can draw upon his or her formal legal education in addition to any real life experience of actually handling bankruptcy claims. If this Is not your first time seeking federal bankruptcy protection then you may be a little bit more familiar with the process than most other people. Even still, you can probably benefit from professional legal guidance so that you do not find yourself in the bankruptcy boat for third time. Perhaps there was a valuable lesson that you may have missed the first time around. It is very important to learn from your financial woes especially now that federal bankruptcy regulations stipulate that an extended time period must elapse before one can seek federal bankruptcy again. This is usually about eight years for chapter 7 filings according to the guidelines established by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. This is a slight increase from the six year time frame prior to the 2005 implementation of the new federal bankruptcy guidelines. This could mean a few things for repeat filers. One of the consequences of this particular part of the new bankruptcy law could mean prolonged financial suffering for repeat filers. For those who simply cannot endure financial suffering, it may force them to consider other reconcilement or repayment options.