Bankruptcy, or not to bankruptcy, that is the question …
Clients email me or come into my office and hand me stacks of letters from my so-called competitors, promising the sun, the moon and the stars.
There are several attorneys out there who are sending letters encouraging you, New Jersey consumers fighting with creditors and mortgage servicers, to FILE BANKRUPTCY as the real solution to all of your problems.
I hate those letters. (Don’t like some of those attorneys much, either.)
I don’t practice bankruptcy law, and I don’t hate those letters because people are filing bankruptcy instead of defending themselves … I hate those letters because bankruptcy is complicated, and the reasons for filing bankruptcy are complicated.
Do you file Chapter 7? Do you file 13? Are you being encouraged to file Chapter 11?
Do you file at all? Is it going to help? Is it really going to resolve my problems with my bank?
Remember this truth:
- If Your Only Tool Is a Hammer Then Every Problem Looks Like a Nail
Are you being solicited by attorneys who only file bankruptcy petitions for people? If so, run away. Far and fast. If all they do is file bankruptcy, that is all they know.
And that is just not enough.
Bankruptcy is sometimes a tool, rarely an end, to resolve a foreclosure. I recommend people to bankruptcy attorneys when it is appropriate to file for bankruptcy protection, and that decision has to be made only with the help of an expert.
For people in foreclosure, that expert should not be an expert only in bankruptcy … but an expert in the rights and liabilities of mortgage servicers pressuring homeowners.
You want to file bankruptcy? OK. Does it make sense for you to file bankruptcy? Great! It can be a huge help and I can point you in the direction of some excellent bankruptcy attorneys throughout the state.
But … educate yourself. Find out your rights. Be prepared to fight back. Be smart. You have a question? Ask an expert.
When people call, I answer the phone.
But only if you call my private cell phone: (201) 970-6534.
There will be more posted shortly about my journey to this place, where I decided to give free advice to my customers. Stay tuned … and get ready for a wild ride.
