You may take ownership over the fact that you single-handedly made poor financial choices that led you to the point of bankruptcy. With this, you may not want to burden anyone else with this trouble and go through your bankruptcy proceedings independently. While we appreciate your responsibility and accountability, we would like to urge you against this. Rather, we would like to offer our services to you. Please read on to discover the potential risks of filing for bankruptcy without a seasoned Rockland County bankruptcy attorney from The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq., P.C.
What are the potential risks when filing for bankruptcy without an attorney?
There are so many legal procedures involved in a bankruptcy claim, which may be particularly difficult if you have never undergone this process before. This is to say that one small misstep without the guidance of an experienced attorney may compromise the success of your case. For example, you may forget or not know to include certain exempt property within the Schedule C form you submit alongside your other bankruptcy paperwork. So, even if you have qualified property, if you do not disclose it here, your creditors may have free rein to take it during your bankruptcy proceedings.
Similarly, you may overlook certain financial disclosures at the onset of your bankruptcy case. That is, you are expected to share all your current assets, liabilities, income, and expenses. Even if you mistakenly left something out, your creditors may take advantage of this and accuse you of bankruptcy fraud. If, upon further investigation, the New York State Bankruptcy Court believes this was intentional misrepresentation, you may face serious criminal punishments and civil consequences.
In a final example, you may assume you are helping yourself by transferring assets to your friends or family members so that it does not get entirely lost in your upcoming bankruptcy proceedings. Well, this initiative may have your creditors assume that you are hindering, delaying, or defrauding them. They may bring this to the attention of the court and, again, ultimately accuse you of committing constructive or actual fraud. At this point, the court may let your trustee void the transfer and take over these assets, along with barring bankruptcy discharges at the end of your case and potentially imposing criminal charges.
Why should I hire an experienced Rockland County bankruptcy attorney?
Based on the scenarios provided above, you should not hesitate to hire a skilled Rockland County bankruptcy attorney to assist you with your case. While you may be making efforts to save money and overall fix your financial mistakes on your own, not having legal representation may make this process more expensive and consequential in the long run. If you are still unsure about this, we would like to inform you that our firm offers free initial consultations with no strings attached thereafter.
In conclusion, if you are ready to make matters right, please retain the services of a competent Rockland County bankruptcy attorney as soon as you can. We at The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq., P.C., look forward to receiving your outreach.
