When it comes to the fees charged by cheap bankruptcy lawyers Torrance CA for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, many debtors have affording issues. But there are payment options one can resort to. If someone thinks they cannot afford a bankruptcy lawyer, there are a number of options that might work for them.
- borrow the funds from a family member, friends or even your employer
- try not to make payments on debts that bankruptcy will have wiped out (and pay your attorney instead)
- file on your own
- retain a bankruptcy lawyer who can handle creditor calls while you pay your fees over time
- file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy instead and use your repayment plan to pay attorney fees or,
- obtain assistance from a legal aid society, a free clinic or pro bono attorney.
Paying a Bankruptcy Attorney Rather than Certain Creditors
When someone files for a chapter 7 bankruptcy, your creditors along with the court, assume that you will stop making payments once your charged gets wiped off in the bankruptcy case. The funds will be used to pay your legal fees instead. We can take an example from medical bills, credit card payments, utility payments that are past-due and personal loans, all of these can get an approval for discharge.
However, falling behind on your payments makes it difficult to catch up, and you need to be sure that will be able to qualify for a chapter 7 before you intend to use this strategy.
Also, if you intend to keep a car, house or any kind of property that is being paid for in terms of credit and if that is pledged as collateral to secure loan payment, this makes it highly imperative that you stay current before and after the bankruptcy. The property will be taken by the lender otherwise.
Borrowing Attorney’s Fees
Meeting your bankruptcy lawyer is a great sigh of relief-knowing that the solution is in sight). A lot of people that lack the funds required to steer the process, turn to family and friends. An employer can be another option, and some of them can be very understanding when you reach them with a request for help with bankruptcy. This is reasonable because this fixes the financial problem once and for all and turns out to be cheaper than helping someone on an ongoing basis.
Filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy by Yourself
It is not a requirement to have a cheap bankruptcy lawyers Torrance CA while filing for bankruptcy relief. However, whether this is the right thing to do depends upon the complexity of your case and how comfortable it would be for your file on your own while understanding the law. Generally speaking, people with simpler cases will be in a better position to file for bankruptcy. For example, if someone has an income below the state median with little to no property reserves, and is able to wipe most of his debt out with their creditors least likely to allege fraud against them, preparing a case in such situation is easier.
Having said this, it should always be kept in mind that filing on your own is never easy. There is involvement of the bankruptcy laws, and if you don’t intend to put in the necessary efforts and time for the research required for the process, you will be risking your unprotected assets. Or worse that you get discharged from nothing from your bankruptcy trial.
Legal Aid, Free Clinic and Pro Bono Attorneys
You can find bankruptcy courts that have free clinics for people having bankruptcy charges and searching for relief on their own. The bankruptcy court on your area can be contacted to find out if any of these services are available.
Filing for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
Filing through this option grants debtors to pay their attorney’s fees through a repayment plan. This plan is ideal if you cannot afford to buy all your attorney’s fees in one go and looking for an option that can stretch out the payment process for you.
Author’s Bio
The author is John Peterson working as a professional criminal defense attorney in Torrance, California. He works specifically on legal matters. He was born in Fullerton, California in June 1990. Since childhood, he has been collecting inspirational paintings, and this is his hobby!
