An experienced New York bankruptcy lawyer should be able to answer every bankruptcy question imaginable. This includes the kind that are based on misconceptions about what bankruptcy is or how it works. One such question that sometimes comes up is, “Will I win my bankruptcy case?” Today, I’ll address that one.
Bankruptcy cases aren’t won or lost. Bankruptcy is not like a criminal or civil proceeding where one side argues a case against a jury or judge to determine relevant facts, amount of compensation due, or guilt of a defendant. Because it’s never won or lost, bankruptcy never appears on television or in movies: It isn’t dramatic. (Well, at least consumer bankruptcies, anyway.)
Bankruptcy is more like an administrative hearing in that it’s technical, bureaucratic, and mechanical. It’s more like going to the DMV than the courthouse. Debtors whose petitions are prepared correctly will probably receive a discharge, halted foreclosure, or whatever their objectives are.
Or, another way to look at bankruptcy is as an involuntary lawsuit filed by the debtor on behalf of the creditors to resolve all of the debtor’s obligations at once. It creates a framework for forcing all the creditors to work with the debtor at the same time, which is why it treats some creditors better than others, e.g. secured creditors or priority claims like tax debts. This framework is why bankruptcy works better than debt settlement: It involves all parties and issues a final, binding result.
This is not to say that all bankruptcies are without any controversies. In fact, the most adversarial part of bankruptcy are aptly named “adversary proceedings.” These are situations in which one of the parties, including, sometimes, the debtor, challenge the others over a bankruptcy issue. Most bankruptcies do not have adversary proceedings, and hiring an experienced New York bankruptcy lawyer to properly prepare the petition will circumvent many of them in the first place.
Much of bankruptcy (more so after the bankruptcy reform of 2005) focuses on meeting eligibility requirements. What is your income? Is it lower than the median family income for the state? If not, you take the means test. Are there still ways of passing the means test and staying in chapter 7? If not would chapter 13 work better? Do your debts exceed the chapter 13 debt limits?
The list goes on. It’s very detailed, but thorough.
One would think that if bankruptcy is more like dealing with any other government bureaucracy that it can be easily handled alone. Few people need lawyers to get a driver’s license. However, because bankruptcy is so detailed, that’s frequently not the case. A mistake in a bankruptcy can set debtors back even more, which is why if you’re experiencing serious debt problems, it’s necessary to consult with an experienced New York bankruptcy lawyer to assess your options.
For answers to more questions about bankruptcy, the automatic stay, effective strategies for dealing with foreclosure, and protecting your assets in bankruptcy please feel free to contact experienced Brooklyn bankruptcy attorney Bruce Weiner for a free initial consultation.
