Answers from a bankruptcy attorney
Dana Wilkinson wrote about questions to ask a bankruptcy lawyer you are considering engaging. The questions are absolutely on point. What she didn’t address is the quality of the answers.
Bankruptcy is stressful. People considering bankruptcy are stressed. It’s complex (more so and needlessly so after the 05 amendments to the bankruptcy law). You need answers that you can understand. After all, both the decision to file and many decisions after that are decisions that only the client can make.
So, one of the criteria for selecting a bankruptcy lawyer ought to be the clarity of the answers you get and the willingness of the lawyer to restate or further explain things you didn’t get the first time through.
Know, too, that there are many questions about how the “new” law works that we simply don’t know yet. The law is poorly written and judges are just beginning to make decisions and write about how they think the new law ought to be applied. Ask about whether there are undecided points of law presented by your case.
Get a lawyer you are comfortable with; disclose everything; and move forward. While sometimes scary, bankruptcy relief can make all the difference in the world about your financial situation.