A lot of the suffering is related to economic issues, and sometimes a bankruptcy is a good idea. Therefore, I'm reposting an entry from my Arizona Bankruptcy Attorney Blog here, just to get you to start thinking about how much nicer your life would be if you could afford some of the things you want in life, including the ability to contribute toward a retirement fund!
So enjoy!
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I get to see more human suffering than any other professional except an oncologist, and that makes me sad.
That's because much of the suffering that happens in conjunction with a bankruptcy is self-inflicted.
And that's because overwhelming debt is...you know, overwhelming!
Remember, if you get sued, don't do nothing, right? And that's because your situation becomes worse when a creditor gets a judgment against you; on the one hand, that creditor can garnish wages and bank accounts, and if he records the judgment in the county (usually Maricopa) in which you own real property, it becomes a judgment lien on your real property in that county.
Putting it another way, a judgment creditor gets a lien on your house! That's not good. It's not good partly because a properly perfected lien usually survives your Bankruptcy Discharge in Arizona (and everyplace else).
Now, there's all the difference in the world in a judgment that's taken against you by mistake, and a judgment taken against you by design.
The barrier to any number of middle and upper class folks who need to file a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy (merely very painful) as opposed to a Chapter 13 with FIVE YEARS of payments to a trustee (agonizing) is The Dreaded Means Test.
In some cases, it can actually be a good thing to let a judgment be taken against you, because a judgment creditor can garnish up to 25% of your NET income in Arizona, in most cases.
That 25% reduction MAY, IN SOME CASES, be the amount that permits a debtor to slide under the means test limbo bar. Note well: this is not a technique for the faint-hearted, nor for those represented by a bankruptcy mill or a bankruptcy beginner, or a casual bankruptcy lawyer who handles two cases a month. And if you're unrepresented, DO NOT CONSIDER this technique. You're simply not experienced enough in bankruptcy law and calculations to make it work properly. Sorry!
And bear in mind that if you use this technique, you must be prepared to cope with a possible judgment lien attached to your homestead, which may get scraped off in a mini-lawsuit in the Bankruptcy Court under some circumstances.
On the other hand, there are even more arcane ways to deal with lawsuits prior to filing a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, and all of them are post-graduate techniques.
So BEFORE you go and visit with any bankruptcy attorney in Arizona, give that lawyer the Pepsi Challenge(tm): compare all of their credentials, experience, bar activities, board certifications, and client reviews, and endorsements from other lawyers.
You can probably do bankruptcy lawyer comparisons most easily on AVVO.com, but I'm not picky; just DO it! I don't get a commission if you use AVVO.
It makes me sad when I'm contacted by somebody who had a bankruptcy that could have gone well and that went sideways because the debtor did the lawyer version of The Pepsi Challenge(tm) after the fertilizer had hit the air circulation device in their case.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: before you go to see an Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Glendale, Casa Grande, or anyplace else, put 'em through a head to head comparison on the internet, for credentials of all sorts, experience, peer review (an AV rating is best), and client reviews!
p.s. there's another reason that you want to let your fingers do the comparison on the Internet between bankruptcy lawyers; there are bankruptcy mills in town that use inhumanly hard sales techniques. And normal humans have a lot of trouble dealing with those, just the way it's hard to deal with hard sales at used car torture chambers.
And the reason I don't use sales closes is that if I "close" a client against her will, no matter how much I know I can help 'em, they may have "buyer's remorse", and I'm allergic to buyers remorse.
p.p.s. before you call me or email me to set up an appointment, you can educate the heck out of yourself on my Bankruptcy Homework Blog! That should let you know, step-by-step-by-step, exactly how your bankruptcy case will flow, how long it will take, how much I may charge (within a range, of course; a small business costs a little more), and how you can prepare before coming in to visit with me.
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