Five Things You Must Not Do When Choosing A Bankruptcy Lawyer

If you are undergoing major financial distress and you have tried out every possible debt help technique there is available, what else can you do? The only answer left to resolve your problems is by declaring bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is not advised by many financial experts. But, when all else fails and you have no other option left then it is the right time to exercise the method. To make the complicated process less stressful, bankruptcy lawyers are available to help you out.
A bankruptcy lawyer is a professional individual who specializes in the bankruptcy field. It is someone who is an expert and knows every single minor and major detail that is included in the process. This is an attorney who can represent you in the judicial court to make filing for bankruptcy short and fast. At the same time, bankruptcy lawyers guide you towards bettering your finances, they help you pull up yourself and start fresh.
What Not to Do When Finding A Bankruptcy Lawyer
When choosing a bankruptcy lawyer, there are things that you need to watch out for, traits and skills that you must consider. However, there are also factors that you need not look for and you should not do in your search of a bankruptcy attorney. The following are:
Decide On The Last Minute
Most often, debtors tend to put off filing for bankruptcy. Even more, they neglect choosing a bankruptcy lawyer ahead of time. Save yourself from despair by not joining the pack. Delaying your search for professional aid will only make matters worse. Finding an attorney on the last-minute does not help your case at all. The longer you wait, the more your debts will increase and pile up and your attorney will not be able to prepare your case well putting you in the losing end. Finding a good and reliable bankruptcy attorneys' take time.
Demand For A Low Service Fee
Face it, you are going through the most complex debt elimination method and it is just right that you pay your bankruptcy lawyer the best price possible. When you are finding for a bankruptcy attorney to work for you, never negotiate with his service's cost as this will surely scare him out. You can settle for rate that both suits you perfectly during the start of the bankruptcy process, but never demand. The process of bankruptcy is not easy at all so expect the attorney's fee to be expensive. The safest way to go is for you to scour as many bankruptcy lawyers as possible in order to compare rates. If you are truly short on cash, choose the professional with the lowest asking rate but see to it that he is eligible.
Delay Examining Credentials
There are a lot of scammers out there just waiting for you to fall into their trap. In order to avoid making the scenario worse, for every bankruptcy attorney on your list ask them to present their credentials to you. Accreditation's, extra training sessions completed, papers, and other legal documents must be shown to you first hand. Also, make sure that the lawyer is certified by the American Bankruptcy Institute. Verify with the board or with the company he works for to check if all the information given is correct and valid.
Not Asking Questions
While you are choosing a bankruptcy lawyer to make the task easier for you and eliminate the stress it gives you, it is not also right to not ask questions to your attorney. Believing what comes out of their mouth instantly puts you into more danger. Ask basic questions. How many bankruptcy cases has he handled and closed successfully? How does the process work? How long will it last? What goes on in the court? Will you work openly with the bankruptcy lawyer or not? What services do you offer aside from bankruptcy?
Overlook Reactions
Once you have finished making interviews with prospective bankruptcy attorneys evaluate how each one responded on your questions. If someone gives you elusive answers or is not clear in pointing out his services then its best to eliminate them from your list. Another factor to watch for is your feeling towards the lawyer. Always select the bankruptcy lawyer whom you feel most comfortable with. He is going to handle your case and you are going to work with him so might as well hire someone you feel at ease with and with good rapport.

Federal Exemptions and Personal Bankruptcy

Declaring a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy with a bankruptcy lawyer is an option that you can take if you've been struggling with mounting bills, crippling credit card payments and other debts that are eating away at your hard-earned money.
Filing for bankruptcy is a relatively easy process - especially with an experienced bankruptcy attorney by your side - that can take anywhere from three to six months to finalize, and can give you that much-needed chance to give your credit score the healthy boost that it needs. When filing for bankruptcy, it's important to remember that there are certain debts that can be claimed as an exemption, both on the state and federal level. Luckily, we've got the rundown of what exemptions you can claim when filing.
When you file for bankruptcy, there are certain debts that are federally exempt from being forgiven. These debts include alimony, child support and some income taxes. Until 2005, this exemption used to include student loan payments; however, laws have been passed to exclude student loan debt from federal exemptions. Of course, it's important to distinguish between state and federal exemptions; depending upon where you reside, you can choose up to the following exemptions as opposed to any state exemptions:

• Homestead - Real property to $17,450
• Insurance - Unemployment or disability benefits; life insurance for any dependents; life insurance policy values up to $9,300; life insurance contracts that have not yet matured.
• Other payments - Alimony; child support payments.
• Pensions - Those needed for support
• Public Benefits - These exemptions can include social security payments, public assistance, unemployment compensation, veteran's assistance, etc.
• Education Funds - If you've got savings accumulating in an educational retirement account or an approved tuition program and have opened it over a year ago - and it will directly benefit your child or grandchild - this is excluded from your debtor's estate.

In addition to these assets, you can exempt up to $925 of any personal property, as defined by Law Section (d)(5). In this way, you can keep some personal property from being included in your debtor's estate. If you want to find out if a state or federal exemption will allow you to keep more personal assets, ask your bankruptcy lawyer, who will be better able to assist you with identifying what exemptions you can claim.
Not sure what state you should use in order to claim your state exemption? Simple: you can claim that state's exemption if you've resided there for more than two years.
Declaring bankruptcy can give you that financial freedom that you've been dreaming of for so long.