Bankruptcy Options

Bankruptcy Specialist

Those who wish to file for bankruptcy might be wise to consult with a bankruptcy specialist. A bankruptcy specialist should be someone who is certified by their state bar association in consumer bankruptcy.

In order to become a bankruptcy specialist, a lawyer usually needs to take both the state and American Board of Certification exams and meet all other requirements for certification of each organization. The requirements mean that any lawyer wishing to become a bankruptcy specialist must pay application and exam fees, as well as completing both the necessary applications and exams.

According to the American Board of Certification, bankruptcy specialists must have at least 5 years of experience in the practice of law, with at least 30 percent of their cases and 300 hours of casework in the last 3 years involving bankruptcy cases. They must have participated in at least 30 adversarial proceedings, no more than 5 of any one type, for individual consumers. These requirements insure that bankruptcy specialists have a significant amount and breadth of bankruptcy experience to be able to help consumers with most situations that may arise.

A bankruptcy specialist can go over you case with you to see if you should file for bankruptcy or if there are other, non bankruptcy options that might be available to you to solve your debt crisis.

If they determine that your best option is to file for bankruptcy, and bankruptcy specialist can help you to determine which types of bankruptcy you could file for, and which of your bankruptcy options would be the most advantageous for you.

Once you have determined which type of bankruptcy you plan to file for, a bankruptcy specialist can help you to gather all of the necessary data and forms, and help to to fill out the forms properly.

Bankruptcy law is complicated, and without the help of a bankruptcy specialist you might make a mistake in filling out the paperwork that could leave you much worse off than if the paperwork had been properly filled out.

A bankruptcy specialist can also work with you to help you keep as much of your money and property as is allowed under bankruptcy law.

There are costs and fees associated with using a bankruptcy specialist. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy fees are set by bankruptcy judges, so if you are planning to file Chapter 13 Bankruptcy and plan to use an attorney you should use a bankruptcy specialist as it will cost the same as a less experienced lawyer. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy fees are set by attorneys, so you will have to check around to see what is most advantageous to you, keeping in mind that bankruptcy specialists might save you money in the long run due to their knowledge and experience with bankruptcy cases.