ARE you being harassed by your creditors day and night due to unpaid bills? If you are, you know that this is a pretty unpleasant experience. You may feel scared, angry or embarrassed about your situation. The prospect of debt relief through bankruptcy may sound appealing to you but you are not quite sure if this is really the way to go. Perhaps you have heard good things and bad things about bankruptcy and you need to learn more about it before making a decision.
But just how can you tell when it’s time to make that move and declare bankruptcy? Of course, situations vary and whether or not bankruptcy is your best alternative will depend on the facts and circumstances of your case. But generally, the answer has to do with your ability to pay, which means that you need to consider your income, expenses, your assets and the amount of your debt. You also need to look at the types of debt you have. For example, if you are dealing with nothing but IRS taxes and they type of taxes you have cannot be wiped out in bankruptcy, you may have other options in solving your tax problems besides filing for bankruptcy.
Generally speaking, however, here are a few questions you should be asking yourself to help you assess whether it’s time for you to consider filing for bankruptcy: (1) Are you struggling to pay even the minimum payments on your credit cards? (2) Have you started borrowing money just to be able to cover your basic living expenses such as rent or mortgage, food, gas, etc? (3) Have you lost track of how much you owe? (4) Are bill collectors calling you because you have accounts in collection? (5) Have creditors taken legal action against you such as filing a lawsuit, obtained a judgment and threatening to garnish your wages or levy your bank account?
If you said “yes” to any or most of the above, you could be in a financial danger zone and you need to take action as soon as possible before your financial problems get worse. It may be time to face your financial reality instead of pretending that everything is “OK”. Perhaps you’ve been ignoring your pile of bills and the collection calls. But you’re only going to be able to do this for so long. Sooner or later, you need to face your creditors and do something to change your situation.
I believe that bankruptcy should be a last resort and that you need to exhaust all debt relief options before resorting to it. But I also believe that a lot of people put off the decision to file bankruptcy for too long that they needlessly suffer in debt when they could have acted sooner to rebuild their finances and their life.
Since 1997, I have helped thousands of clients get out of debt. Let me help you determine if bankruptcy is right for your situation. Call Toll-Free at 1-866-477-7772 to schedule a free office consultation. We have offices in Glendale, Cerritos and Valencia.
* * *
None of the information herein is intended to give legal advice for any specific situation. Atty. Ray Bulaon has successfully helped thousands of clients in getting out of debt. For a free attorney evaluation of your situation, please call Ray Bulaon Law Offices at TOLL FREE 1 (866) 477-7772.