Meeting With Your Arizona Bankruptcy Lawyer

What You Can Do to Prepare for the Initial Consultation

Once you have done your research and taken the step to set up a consultation with a bankruptcy lawyer, there are preparations you can make and documentation you can put together that will make your bankruptcy consultation more productive and informative. I offer a free bankruptcy consultation where we discuss bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy solutions to your debt problems. Because my consultations are generally limited to an hour, there is a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time.  It helps tremendously when clients come prepared.  Here are three things you can do to make our meeting more productive:

Document Your Income

First, your income is going to play a major role in determining what type or chapter of bankruptcy you will be filing. For instance, in a chapter 7 bankruptcy we are required to look to your household size and your average monthly income over the last six months. Before we meet, it is a good idea to put together the last six months of your paycheck stubs so that I can advise you whether you will qualify for a chapter 7 bankruptcy or if you will need to file a chapter 13 bankruptcy. If you are not prepared to discuss what your income is, it will be difficult for me to give you an accurate assessment if chapter 7 bankruptcy is an option for you.

Debts – What Kind and How Much?

Second, it helps if you have at least a general idea of what your debts are.  I don’t need you to bring all of your bills or latest statements at the initial consultation, but find out approximately how much credit card debt you have, how much you owe on your first mortgage, your second mortgage, if you have been sued how long ago did you receive the complaint and summons, that kind of thing. Being able to provide me with this information will again help in determining what chapter of bankruptcy is right for your — or if bankruptcy is a good option at all.

Timing the Filing of Your Bankruptcy Case

Finally, timing. If you are about to lose your home, or there is a garnishment on your wages, get into to see your bankruptcy lawyer as soon as you can. While it is possible to file preliminary paperwork very quickly and get a bankruptcy on file, it is not ideal and may result in additional delay and fees. It is not uncommon for a client to come into my office on a Wednesday and tell me that their home is going to be foreclosed on Friday and want a bankruptcy case to be filed immediately to stop the sale. I try to accommodate all of my clients the best I can, but it will make your bankruptcy process go much smoother if we have sufficient time to prepare the required documents and investigate any potential problems.

Adequately preparing for your meeting with your bankruptcy lawyer will make a difficult decision and process more tolerable. It will also enable your bankruptcy attorney to give you accurate information and help plan the bankruptcy process to your advantage.

Arizona bankruptcy lawyer John Skiba can be reached at (480) 420-4028 or via email at john@skibalaw.com.