Got These MYTHS & LIES
About Bankruptcy? Myths stopping
you from considering bankruptcy?
A FEW MYTHS (and LIES) ABOUT
BANKRUPTCY. ARE YOU GETTING
CONFUSED BY THESE IN TRYING
TO FILE?
Forget anything else you might have heard or
been told, otherwise about bankruptcy. Here's
the unadulterated,unbiased, objective
TRUTHS for you about it...



















MYTH #1: That Only Lawyers Can, Or Are
Permitted to, File for Bankruptcy

Not true, though. Absolutely not! In fact, as lawyers themselves would say, IT IS THE LAW!
The law , actually, is very clear on this - that you don’t have to be a lawyer to prepare bankruptcy petition
papers or to file bankruptcy, and that you may, if you prefer, do it absolutely by yourself  without use of a
lawyer. Bankruptcy lawyers don’t usually advertise that part! Apparently, it’s one area they’d rather not  
make “full disclosure” about (wonder why, eh!). But, actually, it’s right there in the Bankruptcy law.

In
Section 527(b) Of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, it tells you this:

“If you decide to seek [to file for] bankruptcy relief, you can represent yourself,
[or]  you can hire an attorney to represent  you, or you can get help [with doing it] i
n some localities from a bankruptcy petition preparer who is not an attorney.
 
[CLICK HERE for more on this]. For Section 527(b) of the Code, click HERE
On the right side of that page, click on CHAPTER 5, then go to Subsection II and
under that, pick Section 527 and go to the 527(b) there.

In fact, probably, the reason the lawyers who drafted the bankruptcy Code couldn't help but to just put this
provision in the bankruptcy law, is that such clause had already been a long-standing edict, long
embodied in and existing in the American law. The American federal law, under
Title 28 U.S. Code 1654,
long provides as follows:

"
In all courts of the United States, the parties may plead and conduct
their own cases personally or by counsel
." For the citation for this, click HERE.

Janice Kosel, Professor of law at Golden State University, San Francisco, and a recognized author and
expert on personal bankruptcy issues, explains: "Do you need a lawyer in order to file a Chapter 13
(bankruptcy) repayment plan? No. [Even] Filing a Chapter 13 plan is often easier than preparing your
income tax return. If you can do that, you can probably handle your... [bankruptcy] yourself...There is no
requirement (under the law) that you have to have a lawyer (in order to file for bankruptcy)...You can
choose to represent yourself."

MYTH #2: That filing for bankruptcy is a “complex” Task To Perform.

This is actually one of the "biggies" of
them all -  this myth (a major favorite
among bankruptcy lawyers quite
beloved by them), that filing for
bankruptcy is a “complex,” somewhat
unusually forbidding, undertaking, and
that if you’re a debtor even remotely
thinking about doing bankruptcy
yourself, maybe you should better
re-thing that - as (so they say) it’s just
too “complex,” and you’ve just got to
be an attorney to be able to do it.

That's absolutely untrue and
erroneous, though. In fact,
nothing – absolutely
NOTHING – could be farther from the
truth!



Actually, experts in bankruptcy law and procedures, including lawyers, court trustees and judges, who
specialize in bankruptcy,
say it loud and clear that most personal bankruptcies (or, for that matter, a
good deal of small business bankruptcies, as well)
are really simple , so much so, in fact, they say, that
such work really don't need the services of a lawyer to handle since they are generally too simple,
elementary and largely clerical to undertake.

They generally cite two basic reasons for which they say this
: (1) an overwhelming majority of personal
bankruptcy cases are so-called "no asset" or "minimum asset" cases—that is, cases in which the owing
debtors literally have or own absolutely NOTHING that the creditors can claim or attach, let alone any
money for paying the lawyer's hefty fees; and
(2) the FACT that bankruptcy, they say (contrary to the
layman's common belief that bankruptcy is a complicated procedure), is really a relatively simple matter
which often involves the mere completion of simple routine forms and submitting them to the local
bankruptcy court.




Janice Kosel, Professor of law at Golden State University, San Francisco, and a recognized author and
expert on personal bankruptcy issues:  "If you can do that [prepare your income tax return] you can
probably handle your... [bankruptcy] yourself..."

Stephen Elias, California Attorney, prominent author and specialist in bankruptcy law, most recently
summed it up this way: “There is seldom a good reason to use an attorney in a consumer Chapter 7
bankruptcy case. The procedures are almost exclusively administrative – that is, there is no appearance
before a judge…The forms are all (with very few exceptions) pre-printed in plain English….[But, in spite of
that fact], What’s tragic is that people actually think they have to have attorney representation [to be able to
do it].”

Jonathan B. Alper, practising Florida bankruptcy attorney:  "Most Chapter 7 consumer bankruptcies are
relatively simple and [hence the] legal fees are low compared to other legal work."

And , get this also, for another example: LARGE NUMBERS OF DEBTORS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FILING
PRO SE , EVEN WITH THE RESTRICTIVE 2005 LAW
ARE MYTHS & FALSEHOODS ABOUT
BANKRUPTCY KEEPING YOU FROM FILING?
FREE YOURSELF FROM THE DEBT BURDEN
WITH THE TRUTH ABOUT BANKRUPTCY!
TESTIMONIALS

The thing I like most about Afford-
Bankruptcy.Com, is
the several
options you have available to
file for bankruptcy
…Allowed me
to pick the least cost program
that I can afford and still get my
bankruptcy…What a service that’
s so needed by so many debtors
today! Thank you     
– Esther L,
San Francisco, CA.

---------------------
Ya all were right. Everything in
the bankruptcy went through just
like that. Not one problem. The
trustee took one look at the
papers at the meeting. The
Creditors Meeting? And the
trustee said everything checked
out well. He seemed surprised,
and to be interested in one
question, who did the papers or
helped me with it?

Apparently, the trustee was quite
impressed with tthe papers
because, just before it was my
turn to see the trustee,
it was a
lawyer that had finished with
the trustee
. And, right there, the
papers were so bad
the trustee
just about threw the papers at
the lawyer and told fella they had
to be “completely redone,
completely.”
I was relieved when
it was my own papers that went
through just fine!
...Thank you for
an excellent job, ya all     
- Dade
B., Chicago, Il.
Studies and court statistics show that in several parts of the United States, but more particularly in urban jurisdictions like New
York and Los Angeles, where the bankruptcy filers' numbers seem to be generally higher, at least before the draconian 2005  
"reform" law that was, according to many respectable experts, later to attain it's original deliberate objective of making it difficult
for individuals to file for bankruptcy,
about 45-50 percent of the bankruptcy filers have been individuals who had done it pro
se
, meaning,  without the use of a lawyer! For example, in the Central District of California, San Fernando Valley Division, the
reported proportion of debtors who had filed for bankruptcy without use of attorneys just before the 2005 law went into effect,
was well
OVER 50%, and as of June 2006, even AFTER the restrictive 2005 law had gone into effect, it was about 27%.  (That
figure should obviously  have gotten much higher today than that by the end of 2008 and thereafter, a time when a severe
economic down turn and high unemployment rate hit the nation!).

And even since the 2005  law, the latest evidence is that after the initial lax in bankruptcy filing, debtors, being increasingly
overburden with passage of time, are now beginning, once again,  to go back to the earlier times of filing for bankruptcy
themselves without lawyers; up to an estimated level of
20-30% so far, according to well informed experts -  a figure which, as
indicated above, shall have obviously  gotten much higher today in 2009,  given the severe economic down turn and high
unemployment rate that has since hit the nation by the end of 2008, and the fact that by the end of 2008, the official statistics for
total bankruptcy filing had, once again,  topped over 1,000,000 filers for the 2008 year, clearly showing that the American
debtors were beginning once again to troop to the bankruptcy courts for relief, notwithstanding the obstacles and
discouragements earlier placed on their path by the new 2005 law!

Listen to this FIRST-HAND 'expert' :  

“When I found myself with no other choice than bankruptcy, I did what most
people do, I
found a lawyer. Within a few weeks I became disenchanted
with the lawyer’s service I was getting
and realized that I could probably
do this on my own. After much research, I finally found this book …guide
explains all the details of filing a bankruptcy on your own…. when to use a
lawyer and when to file on your own, to step by step form guidelines…. The
book is written without the "legalese" that lawyers use to confound and keep
us in the dark. Also, there are great resources for finding the forms
needed online and getting the additional information I needed to file for
bankruptcy.
I've saved myself considerable time, aggravation and money.
I would recommend this guide to anyone. You can do it yourself!” -  stated
Sandra D. Weisner of Ohio, a recent bankruptcy filer who used competent
self-legal manual to do her bankruptcy (quite easily and successfully), and
wrote about it on Amazon.com

MYTH #3: That crooks and cheats are the ones who file for bankruptcy.

There couldn't be a bigger myth.  Actually, the proven evidence from studies from authorities like the U.S. Congress and
bankruptcy experts, is that in today's economic conditions, the typical person who files for bankruptcy is likely to be a "middle
class America" type from all ages, races, sexes, ideological and income spectrum - decent, middle class persons with a
spouse and children and even a suburban home, often with good jobs, average education and "moderate" spending habits,
who usually have to file for bankruptcy only as a last resort in order to save their jobs, their homes, and the stability of their
families from the ravages of the debt collector.
                                                   
Here, below, is
the profile of the typical bankruptcy filer  
in America these days, as reported by a recent study:

  • Average age, 38
  • 30% are women filing alone
  • 26% are men filing alone
  • 50% have experienced health problems
  • 2 out of 3 have lost their jobs
  • There were 1.5 million of them (debtors) who filed
for bankruptcy in 2002
  • 44% are couples
  • Slightly better educated than the general family
  • Only fewer than 9% have not suffered a job loss,
medical event or a divorce
  • Typical family filing for bankruptcy in 1997 had
more than 1 and a half times its   annual income
in short-term, high-interest debt. A family earning
$24,000 had an average of $36,000 in credit cards
and similar debts
                                           
                                                                                            BANKRUPTCY TIME!?
Source: Fragile Middle Class: Americans in Debt, by
Elizabeth Warren, Harvard Law School (Smith Business Solutions).

MYTH #4: That you lose everything when you declare bankruptcy.

But that’s absolutely false. Actually, the bankruptcy laws quite wisely provide for certain "exemptions" in the debtor's assets -
that is, certain essential assets and property that the creditors are forbidden by law from seizing or taking away from the debtor.
You are allowed (and that's as well how come the big and wealthy persons and companies that had previously emerged out of
bankruptcy, such as Macy's, Donald Trump, and others, have also been allowed to come out of it even stronger) to keep
enough of your assets and property to be able to have a "fresh start" in life, after you shall have come out of bankruptcy.
[See
Items
 HERE for more on exemptions; and HERE on Federally  allowed Exemptions]

MYTH #5: That bankruptcy necessarily destroys your credit.  

What a big myth, for that’s not quite so, really. Actually, what is more true, is that bankruptcy per se, does not "destroy" one's
credit. Rather, it is the fact that if one does not, and is not able to, pay one's bills and debts as they fall due, his credit shall have
already been "destroyed" any way, even without having filed any bankruptcy, long before he (she) filed for bankruptcy. So, if, after
your bankruptcy, you can show that you are NOW, rehabilitated, and are NOW, again, financially able and in a new and better
position to pay any new debts you may take on, you'll find that many banks and other lenders will be very willing and ready to
grant you new credits. And, generally, that's what has usually been the more general case with most people who've previously
filed for bankruptcy.

MYTH #6: That bankruptcy means you'll lose your job.
Clearly another one of the big myths, but which is, again,  grossly untrue!  In truth, bankruptcy neither jeopardizes your existing
job nor constitutes a barrier to your obtaining a new job, or a professional license, or business certificate of any kind, as the
relevant federal (and state) laws expressly forbid such conduct by employers. This is, for example, precisely what the law,
Section 525(a) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, stipulates. For this provision of the law, click HERE.  
On the right side of that page, click on CHAPTER 5, then go to Subsection II and under that, pick Section 525, and go to 525(a)
there.

Wish to ORDER one of our variety of low-cost OPTIONS to file for bankruptcy - at Low-Low Cost?
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