When you are going to file for a bankruptcy, it is important to find an experience and reputed bankruptcy lawyer who knows and understand the bankruptcy laws well. It is also important that the attorney knows the procedure of filing bankruptcy. If your current financial situation force you to file for a bankruptcy and you need to find out a good bankruptcy lawyer then you should remember the following steps.

1) You should look for a lawyer who can explain the whole procedure of filing bankruptcy to you. Try to find out someone who will be willing to walk you though each step of this complicated procedure.

2) It is important to know about the fees of the attorney. Be sure that the attorney explains you everything about his fees like what fees is for what service.

3) It may be problem for you that you are not finding someone special who can take care of your case. At this time you can discuss your situation to any other person who is in legal profession. You can discuss it before your personal attorney and he can suggest someone who is good in bankruptcy area or he can do it himself also. But if your personal attorney wants to take over your case then be sure that he know bankruptcy laws well.

4) If you have time then it is advised that visit the bankruptcy court before hiring anyone. This will give you a better understanding on how the total process of bankruptcy works and in this way you will be able to understand what kind of bankruptcy lawyer you need. There is another advantage of visiting the bankruptcy court which is, you can find a list of bankruptcy attorney who are in this area and you can easily find out one of the best from them.

In US the state laws are different so you should follow the rules of your state and find attorney accordingly. You can also search the bankruptcy firm in the internet. If you are in California then search with the keyword “bankruptcy lawyers california”. And if you are in Florida then search with the keyword “bankruptcy lawyers florida”. In this way you can trouble shoot your problem.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy means liquidation of all the assets of the debtor by a court appointed trustee. All the assets of the debtor’s estate will be sold to pay off his creditors. The debtor has the rights to retain certain exempt property and the rights of the secured creditors. In most of the chapter 7 bankruptcy cases, there is usually little or no nonexempt property. If there is, then that property of the debtor cannot be liquidated. But it rarely happens because the debtor already has no assets to show when the liquidation process is on. These cases are called “no asset” cases.

A creditor who is holding an unsecured claim will try to recover his money from the debtor through the attorney only if he is holding an asset case. The creditor will file proof of the claim with the bankruptcy court. A debtor can easily receive a discharge from the court that releases him or her from any personal liability for certain dischargeable debts. This discharge is acquired in few months after the petition is filed. A person filing for bankruptcy has to qualify in the “means test” as per the amendments to the bankruptcy code. This rule is implemented to prevent any bankruptcy abuse in the year 2005 under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. Through the means test, it will be determined whether an individual qualifies for bankruptcy relief if his income is already below the margin. If the income is in excess of certain allowed expenses, he may not be eligible for chapter 7 relief.

• Alternatives to chapter 7

As per an individual situation, while chapter 7 will be the only available option, there are several alternatives to it. For example, those who are engaged in business, including corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships, may prefer to continue their business and avoid the liquidation process. For this, one has to file a petition under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. According to the laws of chapter 11, the debtor might get his dues adjusted through court orders. Either the debt can be reduced or the repayment plan can be extended so that there is no need to liquidate assets.

People having regular income can also seek adjustment of debts under chapter 13 of the bankruptcy code. The advantage in Chapter 13 bankruptcy is that you get an opportunity to save your home from foreclosure if you have a repayment plan set and have every intention to “catch up” the past due payments.

If a debtor’s income is more than the state median, one has to go through the means test to determine whether he is using chapter 7 bankruptcy for abusing it or as a relief. Conditions to qualify in the means test are as follows:

1. Aggregate current monthly income of the debtor over 5 years, net of certain statutorily allowed expenses should not be more than $10,000. If it is, you are disqualified in the means test.
2. 25% of the total debts have to be non priority unsecured debts if it is over $6000. Another alternative of chapter 7 Bankruptcy is out-of-court agreements with the creditors or debt counseling services. This may also be a considerable option to avoid filing chapter 7.

If we have been through bankruptcy then maximum of us think that our credit is shattered and we will not be able to regain it, but not that all times, you can regain credit through some unique ways. After filing bankruptcy your goal or motive should be to start establishing credit and straighten things out. Find 10 ways to recover from bankruptcy below:

• Find the causes of the bankruptcy
• Prepare a suitable budget
• Pay your bills on time
• Check your credit report
• Use a single credit card
• Re-establish credit steadily
• Avoiding unfair deals
• Don’t give up hopes
• Beware of credit repair scams
• Acquire positive approach

1) Find the causes of the bankruptcy: It is really important to find the cause of filing bankruptcy. You need the find the problem from the root and to remove it. Think about new type of employment or some specific budget, so that you find yourself in different position after five years from now.

2) Prepare a suitable budget: One of the most important things in life is to have control over it. And to control your lifestyle and spending attitude, you need to make a suitable budget. Just track six months of your expenses and you will get an idea about your expenses and income. Now you need to make a balance between them to create a realistic budget for you. It is the first step of saving which will help you make funds for future needs.

3) Pay your bills on time: It is necessary to pay all your bills on time if you want to gain good credit after bankruptcy. Bills include small ones like phone and power company bills. Dealings with your bank are also important. Your credit score gets affected on bouncing checks, overdrafts, bank fees etc.

4) Check your credit report: You have got a clean page after filing bankruptcy. Now you have to make sure that you maintain a good and healthy credit report. That’s why it is necessary to check credit report on regular basis to make it errorless. Some of us are scared about numbers and don’t want to go thorough it but for your benefit it is necessary to take control of it.

5) Use a single credit card: One of the best ways to re-establish good credit is using a single credit card and make a good payment record. Creating lots of credit card accounts can’t help your credit.

6) Re-establish credit steadily: Using one or two credit cards and paying them off in full each time helps a lot to your credit score. It should be good within two years if you maintain this behavior. Another thing which will make people who filed for bankruptcy happy is that some lenders prefer to provide loan to people who have filed for bankruptcy in the recent times. The reason behind their thought is that these people will not be able to file bankruptcy again for the next 8 years and they will be liable to pay the new debts.

7) Avoiding unfair deals: This is another area you need to avoid. You will find companies will offer loans with high rate of interest after knowing your situation that you have filed for bankruptcy. You will probably be happy to find this credit but wait, this high rate of interest may not suit your situation, hold for the better offer or deal.

8 ) Don’t give up hopes: Most of us think that after filing for bankruptcy no lenders will agree to approve a loan to us. You need the right lenders to approach. Do some research to find them. Another thing is that of human touch. If you can approach to the lenders properly explaining about the situation and the reasons of filing bankruptcy then they may approve your loan.

9) Beware of credit repair scams: Move yourself away from anyone offering or promises to “repair” or “fix” your credit after bankruptcy. Repairing credit overnight is the next word to impossible. It can only be done by you and with no fee.

10) Acquire positive approach: After filing for bankruptcy you may think that you are alone, you can’t disclose your financial situation to anyone. But think positively because you will find many of your friends and neighbors have also filed it.

Here are some good reasons why people file for personal bankruptcy:

1. Eliminating legal obligation of debt - It is one of the main reasons why people go for Bankruptcy. Main goal of bankruptcy filing is to get a rid of debt and to have a fresh start. Either Chapter 7 Bankruptcy or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy helps people clear many debts.

2. Loss of employment - It can be identified as the other very important reason for filing bankruptcy. It is very common reason that loss of job forces people to file for bankruptcy. Suppose in a family there are 4 members, out of which 2 are earning members. If one of them loss his job for some reason then the financial planning of that family tear down. This is the time when they are forced to file for bankruptcy.

3. Stop foreclosure - Foreclosure of house can be stopped at any time prior to the sale with the help of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. Through Chapter 13 Bankruptcy mortgage on property will not be eliminated without payment. Chapter 13 will restructure a suitable plan to repay mortgage arrears.

4. Stop repossession - Your car and other property can be prevented from being repossessed. If you file bankruptcy quickly enough then after being repossessed your car by the creditor, he will be bound to return it. Chapter 13 plan will consolidate due payments of car if you missed payments in the past. And then on you don’t have to pay to your finance company, rather you will have to pay to your trustee of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy and he will pay to the finance company.

5. Relief from harassing behavior of creditors - It is really tough to bear with the harassing behavior of the creditors and collection agencies. All creditors don’t follow appropriate course of action in the time of collecting debt from debtors. Many a times it has been found that creditors call to the home of the debtors with harassing words. They don’t stop after calling in the home but also harass in the work place which is unbearable. Bankruptcy can stop these harassing calls and give relief from the hand of the creditors and collection agencies.

6. Relief from huge medical bills - Huge amount of medical bills is also a big problem for many people. Through Chapter 7 Bankruptcy medical bills can be reduced which is another good reasons of filing Bankruptcy by people.

7. Stop Wage garnishment - Wage garnishment is also very important reason for filing bankruptcy. But chapter 7 bankruptcy can spot wage garnishment. Basically what happens is that wage garnishment takes away your monthly income without leaving enough amounts for your basic necessities. Filing bankruptcy helps people to purchase necessary goods.

8. Student loan consolidation - Chapter 13 Bankruptcy allows consolidate student loan debt. It is true that student loan debts can’t be eliminated like many other types of unsecured loan debts. But through chapter 13 you can pay this loan in monthly payments.

I may have missed some other reasons, so if you know more valid reasons then please share them with us through the comment section.