Considering Bankruptcy? Five Questions to Ask Yourself

 Are you constantly worried about your finances because of debts that you can no longer afford to pay? If you are in more debt that you can repay, you may feel scared, angry or embarrassed about your situation. If you’ve tried to solve your debt problems on your own but nothing has worked up to this point, the prospect of filing bankruptcy may sound appealing. But perhaps you don’t know enough about it to know if it’s right for your situation.
How can you tell whether bankruptcy is the right solution? 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, your income, expenses, assets and the amount of your debt. You also need to look at the types of debt you have. For example, while most debts are dischargeable in bankruptcy, there are certain types of debts which are not. For example, student loans, back child support and most taxes cannot be wiped out in bankruptcy.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself to help assess whether bankruptcy may be a good idea: (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 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 simply hoping that somehow things will just magically change. The truth is that unlike other problems in life, debt problems usually don’t go away on their own- unless you take action. Perhaps you’ve been ignoring your pile of bills and the collection calls. But you can only do this for so long. Sooner or later, you will need to face your creditors and the consequences of your inaction.
Regardless of the cause of your present financial difficulties, what you need is a game plan to get out of debt before it cripples you. The past is no longer of any consequence unless you let it. And if you act quickly to turn things around, you will realize later that this decision often gives you more options in the long run.
If you need help in exploring all your options- both bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy- you can call Atty. Ray Bulaon’s Valencia office at 866-477-7772 or 661-775-4880 to request a free initial consultation. Ray has successfully assisted more than 5,000 clients in finding debt solutions since 1998 and has been twice voted as Santa Clarita’s Best Bankruptcy Lawyer.