subject: Bankruptcy Lawyers: More Help Than You May Realize! [print this page] Bankruptcy Lawyers: More Help Than You May Realize!
Bankruptcy lawyers not only help with the legal process of bankruptcy to ensure that everything runs smoothly, but they also give you legal advice and act as your counselor in many ways by presenting you with all options available and talking with you through each one to help you make the best decisions possible. They look out for your best interest by making sure that creditors stop harassing you, and they try to protect your property and they protect your rights. They are great at negotiating deals as well concerning bankruptcy since that is what they specialize in.
Since the year 2005, new rules have taken effect concerning bankruptcy that require all those who file for bankruptcy to go through tests to see if they qualify. With these new rules in place, bankruptcy lawyers now have to not only help through the process of the tests, but often times, help formulate a payment plan if the person does not qualify to have all their debt removed. Not only is this a lot of extra work for bankruptcy lawyers, but it takes up much more of their time as well, so they are more expensive than they were before 2005, but they do a lot more for you too.
The tests you are required to now go through involve proving that your total household salary does not exceed the median household salary for a household your same size. If your household salary exceeds the medium, then you must subject yourself to a means test, which basically measures how well within your means you are living. All of your expenses will be laid out and it will be decided which are deemed necessary, and which are unnecessary. Any money you have left over after all of the necessary bills are subtracted will be money that they may have you use to pay off your debt. You therefore may have to do without some extras while paying off your debt, although, depending on your finances, some of that debt could still be wiped away.
