Personal Bankruptcy

By Virginia Whitehead


Facing a financial crisis could be one of the most difficult times in a person's life. More often than not, people tend to file for bankruptcy, as a means to come out of the situation. It is always preferable that the bankruptcy is handled by an experienced bankruptcy attorney. Since dealing with finance does require specialized knowledge, it is something that is best handled by professionals in the field.

For some, they will get a bankruptcy dismissal without prejudice meaning they can file again at any time. Usually, this is because the person failed to provide all of their documentation required by the bankruptcy court. Sometimes the person won't provide copies of their back taxes or pay stubs. Some misplace or leave out a page of the bankruptcy petition. For the bankruptcy filing to move forward, all documents must be submitted to the bankruptcy court to be forwarded to the trustee. The bankruptcy court will mail out a letter to the individual filing bankruptcy explaining the missing document with an amount of time they have to turn it in. If they don't, the bankruptcy will be dismissed. One other thing many people have forgotten was to take the post bankruptcy financial management course and submit the completion certificate to the bankruptcy court. Some of them take the course and fail to submit the proper documentation which causes their bankruptcy to be dismissed before the bankruptcy discharge. This is just foolish after going through all the hassles of the entire process and forgetting to submit one small thing.

Another thing that can cause a dismissal of a bankruptcy filing is not submitting all the documentation that the bankruptcy trustee will ask for. When necessary the trustee will ask the individual filing at the meeting of the creditors were 341 meeting to submit additional information. Sometimes, a bankruptcy trustee will ask for additional documentation or proof of someone's employment or maybe property. If the person fails to submit it, they will have a deficiency notice sent out for their bankruptcy filing that gives the individual a certain timeframe to reply with the documentation needed. If the person doesn't send this in, their bankruptcy will be dismissed. That's why the bankruptcy attorney will usually tell their client to make sure and open everything the bankruptcy court might send them.

Many of these mistakes are avoided when the client has a bankruptcy attorney that they have a great relationship with. If the individual get something in the mail they can call the attorney and ask how to proceed. Or if something is missing that the filer needs to provide, the attorney or their staff will call before it becomes a problem. This is an available to those that file a do-it-yourself bankruptcy and this is why many of them will have a stack of problems to deal with if they are to get their bankruptcy discharge.

Filing for bankruptcy could be one of the most emotionally taxing experiences. You need to find a lawyer who would fully understand your state of mind and offer you a sympathetic hearing. The attorney should also show a ready willingness to answer any questions that you may have about the case. You must never make the mistake of hiring the services of a bankruptcy attorney just because he or she lives down the street in your neighborhood. You need to remember that we live in a day and age where location is no longer a constraint for smooth communication. The criteria for hiring the services of an attorney should be only competency and nothing else.




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