Bankruptcy can be tricky. I recently met with a potential bankruptcy client who had filed her first case on her own (also known as a pro se bankruptcy). Like almost all pro se bankruptcy cases, it got dismissed. After she came to meet with me to discuss refiling the bankruptcy case, she was completely shocked when I advised her not to file bankruptcy because all of her debts were barred by the Georgia Statute of Limitations.
“Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed. “You mean I went to all this trouble in that first case for absolutely nothing!? Are you telling me that I never should have filed bankruptcy?!”
“Yes”, I replied. “That is exactly what I’m telling you.”
(disclaimer- the person in the picture is not my client. I used this picture to illustrate her shock).
Explore your options
Just because you come into my office for a free consultation does not mean that you are definitely going to file bankruptcy. When you meet with me or my associates, we are going to shoot straight with you. We are going to look at your entire economic situation and try to come up with a plan that works for you.
Examples of people who may not need to file bankruptcy
1. All of the debt is barred by the Georgia Statute of Limitations.
2. The only debt issue is the FIRST mortgage and the house has already been foreclosed more than 30 days ago. Under Georgia law, a first mortgage holder has 30 days to file a confirmation of foreclosure. If they don’t, they cannot collect on any deficiency. Click here for information on this topic.
3. The only source of income is Social Security and there are no significant assets. As a general rule, social security checks cannot be garnished. Click here for more information on this topic.
The bottom line is this. You should not ever be afraid to go meet with a bankruptcy attorney for a free consultation. Instead, you should be afraid of not knowing your legal rights.
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If you have a debt issue, call my office today at 770-637-1756.
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4. How much does it cost to file?