The basic purpose of bankruptcy laws is to protect people from the horrible consequences of being unable to repay debts, consequences so horrible that they should not happen in a modern country with a functioning court system. In the old days, when people could not repay their debts, they went to debtors’ prisons or signed an indenture in which they promised to perform unpaid labor as a substitute for repaying the debt in currency, effectively allowing themselves to be enslaved. Bankruptcy laws operate on the principle that these punishments for non-fulfillment of debt obligations are cruel and unjust, as unjust as coercing people into confessing to crimes of which they are accused. When you file for bankruptcy, you are filing a petition for protection from debt collection actions such as creditors seizing your property, which used to happen all the time in the days before bankruptcy laws and which is still legal in the United States. The good news is that everyone who owes debts in the United States that they cannot repay has the right to file for bankruptcy protection in federal bankruptcy court; this is true regardless of your immigration status and the value of your assets and debts. The bad news is that filing for bankruptcy protection is more accessible to the rich than to the poor. If you are in a desperate financial situation and want to find a way to file for bankruptcy, contact an Oakland Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyer.
You Cannot Be Too Rich to File for Bankruptcy, but You Can Be Too Poor
Even though everyone has the right to file for bankruptcy, the cost of filing is not free. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy case costs several hundred dollars, even if you do not hire a bankruptcy lawyer. This means that it is possible that you cannot currently afford to file for bankruptcy. Some people spend months saving up for the cost of a bankruptcy filing, falling farther behind on their debts as they do, anxiously hoping that the bankruptcy case goes through before the wage garnishment begins.
In one of life’s great injustices, you cannot be too rich to file for bankruptcy protection, but you can be too poor. The bankruptcy court cannot reject your bankruptcy filing because your income is too high; the worst that can happen is that it can liquidate your non-exempt assets, such as your vacation home, in a Chapter 7 case or increase your monthly payments in your debt repayment plan in a chapter 13 case.
What to Do if You Cannot Afford to Hire a Bankruptcy Lawyer
You have the right to represent yourself in a bankruptcy case, but you will probably get more debt relief if you hire a lawyer. If you cannot afford the filing fees even without a lawyer, you can file a fee waiver with the courts. You can also contact legal aid societies to find reduced-cost legal services.
Contact the Law Office of Melanie Tavare About Filing for Bankruptcy
A debt relief lawyer can help you if you want to file for bankruptcy and the thing stopping you is a lack of funds. Contact the Law Office of Melanie Tavare in Oakland, California, or call (510)255-4646 for a case evaluation.
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