Monday, December 16, 2013

Why Debtors Can Better Afford Bankruptcy Without Attorney - Cost Of Filing Bankruptcy Using Attorney

By Frank Miller


The bankruptcy laws as defined in the bankruptcy code of the United States have been categorized into various chapters and one of the most common types of bankruptcy is chapter 7 bankruptcy. The concept of bankruptcy that a common man has is the concept described in the chapter 7 of the bankruptcy laws.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the option for the debtors to get rid of all the debts that they owe to various creditors. In this method, the bankruptcy court appoints a trustee to liquidate all the assets of the debtor and settle the claims of the creditors with the money thus collected. The advantage to the debtor is that he or she is now responsible to pay as much debt as is the value of their assets.

That claim was NOT at all true. In deed, almost every credible study that had been conducted on the subject, and most experts that testified before Congress, had held otherwise. However, Congress disregarded such evidence. In stead, it promptly responded by passing the BAPCPA law, any way. In consequence, the stated and yet unmistakable purpose of this law was essentially to discourage debtors from filing bankruptcy by making it more stringent and expensive to file. The new law was to do that by forcing people who, it was said, could actually "afford" (through a determination by a complex "means test" calculation) to repay some of their debts, into filing for bankruptcy under Chapter 13, instead of under Chapter 7 - that is, the type of bankruptcy (Chapter 13) which requires that the debtor will repay at least some, if not most or all, of their debts.

To a hard pressed and destitute debtor, the vexing, bothersome issue, is what justification, then, is there for the great disparity that exists in the prices the bankruptcy lawyers charge for bankruptcy work, relative to what the non-attorney bankruptcy document preparers charge for turning up essentially the same work for the debtor? Bankruptcy lawyers would, of course, advance all sorts of convoluted arguments and conceive all kinds of fancy justifications in defense of their extremely higher and disproportionate charges. That aspect, however, is a matter for another place and another day for us. But is it a matter of no bankruptcy attorney, and cheap, low-low cost bankruptcy? For the benefit and information of debtors contemplating bankruptcy, just so you'll at least have an idea, here are the differences in prices between what the non-lawyer assistance-provider charges, and what the attorney assistance-provider charges.

Rather they are asked to file for bankruptcy again under chapter 13 where they will be suggested a repayment plan to pay off the debts along with the opportunity to reorganize their finances under the expert guidance of the trustee appointed by the bankruptcy court. Therefore, it is very important for you to check out everything before you file for chapter 7 bankruptcy. I must add that converting the bankruptcy claim from one type to another will require you to pay the conversion fees, which is substantial in nature.

Historically, the ability of the average debtor reasonably to file for bankruptcy and to be reasonably discharged of his/her debt burden, and to obtain a fresh start to begin life anew relatively unhindered by the past debts, has been a fundamental but vital and long-standing part of the American law and life. In deed, that right is one of a handful of fundamental rights specifically named by the original U.S. Constitution and guaranteed under it. However, contrary to that fundamental American value, the new bankruptcy law of 2005 introduces into the bankruptcy system, perhaps for the first time ever, elements which drastically limit the extent of the exercise and enjoyment of this basic right by the average debtor. It does this by placing an array of new hurdles, financial as well as legal, on the path of the overburdened American debtor who seeks the "fresh start" protection that bankruptcy has traditionally offered the American debtor.




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