What should a person expect when hiring a top-notch Bankruptcy Attorney In Puyallup Wa? One of the first qualifications should be that the lawyer offers free initial consultations. Their fees should be presented in a straightforward way so there are no surprises. People who are facing bankruptcy obviously do not have a lot of money to spend on legal representation.
Legal Fees
The lawyer will typically offer payment arrangements for clients filing Chapter 13, which is a program allowing people to pay back most or all of their outstanding debt over three to five years. The lawyer’s fees can be included in this program, although a down payment may be required. Unfortunately, clients usually must pay the lawyer upfront before filing Chapter 7. This program eliminates unsecured debt, and that includes lawyer fees.
Paperwork Filing
A Bankruptcy Attorney In Puyallup Wa will file all the necessary paperwork and represent the client at any scheduled court hearings and meetings with creditors. Many forms must be filled out, and the lawyer has the advantage of software to streamline the process. This attorney provides prompt updates to the client about anything that occurs pertinent to the case.
What Lawyers Expect
The lawyer expects certain behaviors from the client as well. Truthfulness about the amount of debt owed and the list of creditors is imperative, and so is honesty about assets. It’s theoretically possible for a client to forget about a small savings account in a city where he or she used to live years ago. However, the court will not believe a protest of forgetfulness about a powerboat or a parcel of real estate.
The End of Creditor Calls
The client will realize that a lawyer such as Rafal Gorski, Attorney at Law, has taken the first action in the case when contact attempts from creditors stop. By law, creditors can no longer contact this person as soon as a filing has been made, even if it is not complete. Incomplete filings may be made when the individual has waited until the last minute while trying to resolve a foreclosure or vehicle repossession. Sometimes filing for bankruptcy is the only way to prevent eviction by a sheriff or loss of a car.
