Filing Bankruptcy is a BIG thing. It’s not a decision to be made lightly; nor is it a decision to be made on a whim or without consideration of you and your families’ financial big picture.

The first step in my law practice is counseling our clients, providing information and accurately analyzing their personal financial situation, suggesting options and providing advice thus allowing them to make a decision about their future.

There are a couple of big personal obstacles encountered by people who contemplate filing bankruptcy. I interview dozens of people each week and here are the common themes and concerns of people considering bankruptcy.

Embarrassment, Shame and Failure

To many the word “bankruptcy” conjures up feelings of failure, shame, embarrassment and even spiritual sin.

When your debts have overwhelmed you, when you lost a job, had death in the family or major illness, endured a painful divorce (all major causes of financial distress), these triggering events cause a build up of emotional, financial, marital, family and spiritual stress.

You can feel isolated, alone and at the mercy of collection agency thugs, loan and credit debt modification scams and the real and imagined loss of friends and family relationships. This is prison.

The debt cycle is often intensified because no one likes to experience these emotions or repercussions, so further credit card debt is incurred, or money borrowed from family and friends and finally the 401k or retirement account gets raided. Then your options run out.

Once all of the resources are exhausted (cars, boats, motorcycles sold, garage sales), pleading and begging with the mortgage company and credit card companies to modify the loan terms even fewer options remain.

Once the creditors start calling, a car gets repossessed, the lights get turned off the stress on the family, marriage and job and kids intensifies. It is a sad fact that credit card companies, auto finance companies and collection agencies lie, misrepresent, generally try and scare you to death to get that last dollar out of you.

The telephone becomes these terrorists’ weapons of choice. Most good people try and explain their dire situations, but they won’t listen.

Here is a secret: They don’t care. “These are your debts and how dare you not pay them” they say. They DO NOT CARE about you or your family – their business, their job depends upon grinding more money out of you.

I have had several collection agency employees become bankruptcy clients. When I ask about their jobs, they are usually very open about collection tactics and usually have no feelings one way or the other upon how others feel when they call. Its not that they are cold hearted people or devoid of human decency, they explain their only concern (in order to keep their jobs) is collecting money that day. They are wolves trying to rip the last piece of meat from the carcass of weakened caribou.

As the mob guy says “its nothing personal, just business.”

I actually know some nice, good hearted people who work or own collection agencies. In my job, I’ve negotiated with the best and the worst. Their job and business is to collect money – I can’t fault them for that. If you borrowed the money they have the right to attempt to collect it. There are strict laws that allow them to get judgments, repossess cars, foreclosure on your house and garnish your wages, and whether they fall into the good, bad or ugly category they will use all possible means of collecting money from you – some completely legal and others criminal.

The good news is that bankruptcy stops collection, garnishments, and lawsuits instantaneously. Yes, once your bankruptcy is filed all collection activity of debts must immediately stop. This is Federal law. Its called the automatic stay.

The number of bankruptcies filed this year will total a record amount, and although this is a depressing trend, filing bankruptcy for most people is almost always the last resort. Individuals and families don’t jump at the chance to file bankruptcy.

Most people want to pay their bills, pay their mortgages, save for retirement and raise their families. I don’t care if you come from a Red or Blue or even a “green” state, Democrat, Republican, Independent, the compass of the American people has not fundamentally changed when it come to filing bankruptcy. It is still a big deal – a last resort.

I have found that clients first need education about what bankruptcy can do in their circumstances, and that does not come from a 10 minute phone consultation or advice from someone who thinks the “know” what the law is or how it applies to you.

People need guidance and advice on what to do and what they can do. This takes time. I regularly spend 2 hours with my clients even before they have retained me. You have a story – a financial story, and it needs to be told. I’m very good at asking questions and have a curious nature so by time you walk out of an initial consultation you will have more information, advice and questions than you were prepared to receive.

The one thing that bankruptcy offers is the end of the stress and embarrassment — no credit counselor can offer that same guarantee.  Get off the merry go round. Most people are never aware that you have filed bankruptcy. Obviously if you lost a home or business, more people are going to know, but what is more important to you and your family is the freedom of the tyranny of debt and its terrorists: the collection agencies and credit card companies.

The credit card companies, collection agencies, mortgage and auto finance companies do not care. They have one objective: to collect money, and if you don’t have it or they are unable to work with you to repay that money (usually with breathtaking interest and penalties compounding monthly) they just simply don’t stop calling or all of a sudden attempt to console you.

What can you do? Run away. Change jobs. Hide from your friends. Move to another country. As one client puts it so clearly: “you continue to lie and deny” This is prison. This is slavery. Don’t mistake it for anything else other than what it is.

You can either deal with it through bankruptcy – a set of laws to protect both the debtor and creditor or ignore it and hope it goes away or repay what you owe. If you continue to “lie and deny” (another form of avoidance) you will never be free. Filing bankruptcy is about freedom from the tyranny of debt, getting a fresh start financially, arranging your finances so to never again be at the mercy of the debt industry.

Less than 150 years ago we had debtor’s prison. When you could not pay a bill and you were forced to court by your creditor, you could be sentenced to jail.

Well in my opinion we still have debtor’s prisons today. They are self imposed. Yes, we must take responsibility for that credit card debt or the bad mortgage that you had no business taking out (refinance or purchase). This is a fact. I deal in facts.

My initial consultation with clients is to gather financial facts to help them make good choices, not to berate them, judge them or suggest crazy unrealistic repayment plans.

It is my experience most people fully intended to pay their debts, but something happened: loss of job, slow down in business, illness, divorce or bad advice on a mortgage (or fraud), or lack of financial education in taking out these obligations.

I will also admit there are a few deadbeats that gleefully skip into my office trying their best to outwit everyone by filing bankruptcy, but these are far and few. I’ve shown more than a few people the door after uncovering their lies. In one case, I felt compelled to wash my hands after I told this couple to leave my office (even though I did not shake hands with them at the end of the meeting). They were dirty and I felt dirty. Yes, the law gives me every right NOT to represent you and if you lie to me I won’t represent you.

Those stories are the exception.

I don’t care what Congress, banks, credit card companies or collections agencies say (or more importantly their PAID lobbyists in Congress say), most people want to pay their bills, but one or more life circumstances has caused irreparable financial harm leading to a decision to file bankruptcy. Call me today to discuss you situation.

Disclaimer

Fresno-Bankruptcy-Lawfirm.com is owned by the Law Offices of Jeffery D. Rowe. We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Federal  Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code). If you would like to discuss your situation in further detail, please call our offices at: (559) 228-1500 to schedule a consultation.