How Can A Bankruptcy Attorney Help You?

If you are filing for Chapter 7, 11, or 13 bankruptcy, one of the best things you can do for yourself is hire the services of a lawyer. There are numerous things that a bankruptcy attorney can help you with that you would be unable to accomplish on your own. Here's just a few of the ways in which an attorney can help you.

Representation

During your hearings, a lawyer can represent your interests and arguments in an authoritative, professional manner. There is at least one mandatory hearing during a bankruptcy processional, entitled a 341 hearing, in which your attorney will state your reasons for filing for bankruptcy, as well as what you plan on doing to correct the oversights that led to you having to file for bankruptcy in the first place. If you have other pressing matters to attend to, such as work, your attorney can even entirely represent you without your presence.

Paperwork

Filing for bankruptcy requires that you immerse yourself in a large amount of paperwork that is laden with legal jargon and sentences that are difficult to parse. Your bankruptcy attorney should be able to help you fill out these forms, and will most likely even have software that will make the process far easier and much more streamlined. Before sitting down with your lawyer and discussing this paperwork, make sure you bring along documentation of your assets and income. Each specific form has a deadline by which it must be submitted. Your attorney should know all of the municipal and state rules revolving around paperwork filing.

Updates and Developments

Generally, after hiring a bankruptcy attorney, he or she will make contact with the creditors and trustee involved with your case and take over as executor of the proceedings. This means that anyone who is involved with the case will most likely talk to your attorney so that you do not get mired or inundated with too many details or requests coming at you from all angles. A good bankruptcy attorney should give you updates on your case as they're happening at a time that is generally convenient for you.

Bankruptcy proceedings can be a frustrating experience. An experienced bankruptcy attorney can make this experience much easier for you by streamlining the process and ensuring that no important information is lost on you and all of the details are easily conveyed. If you decide to file for bankruptcy, you need not go through the proceedings alone. Hire an attorney, such as Gruber & Associates, PC, for more information.