Bankruptcy Resources

As a law firm focusing in protecting our clients from their creditors, we know that a cost efficient approach to your case is appreciated.  As part of our services, we provide many free resources to help you see if you can resolve whatever legal issues you are facing without our assistance or to handle the small things prior to bringing us in for the tougher things where you need a full service firm to take over.  Please take your time to review all of the resources on our site.  You are welcome to give us a call to schedule a free 15 minute phone consultation.

Bankruptcy Resources

We appreciate you coming to our website and considering our firm to assist you.  We encourage all potential clients to consider free resources prior to retaining us if your matter is simple and the amount in controversy makes sense.  If you have questions, give us a call to see how we can help.

The page you are on now is for Bankruptcy Resources.  Below is our big list or resource pages by area of law.  Continue down the page for the specific Bankruptcy Resources.

  1. General Referrals (Pro Bono, Low Bono, Referral Services, & Government Agencies)
  2. Bankruptcy Resources
  3. Consumer Protection Resources
  4. Credit Report Resources
  5. Debt Collection Resources
  6. Family Law Resources
  7. Foreclosure Defense Resources
  8. Identity Theft
  9. Landlord Tenant Resources
  10. Lemon Law
  11. Small Claims
  12. Student Loans

Disclaimer: No attorney client relationship is formed by use of any of the below links, forms, instructions, or third party sites.  These resources are provided free of charge for use on a pro se (without an attorney) basis.  We recommend that you consult with our firm or a firm or other agency of your choosing to fully understand your rights, the availability of counter claims, and other relevant issues.

 

Bankruptcy Resources

For many individuals filing bankruptcy, you face a catch 22 scenario.  If you had the money to file for bankruptcy protection, you might not need to file.  This is particularly true if you have just been garnished, lost your job, or you are facing other serious financial situations.  To assist those who may need to file on you own, obtain a pro bono bankruptcy attorney, or lower cost bankruptcy service than we can provide, we provide the below links.  We encourage everyone to consider these options.  As a warning, however, you do get what you pay for and if you need any help fixing errors and obtaining a clean discharge we can help.

For filing on your own, I would recommend a good Nolo guide on ch 7 or ch 13.  Chapter 7 is entirely possible to file on your own if your estate is simple and the assets you need to protect are not extensive.  Chapter 13 is much more difficult to pull off and it is not our recommendation to try a pro se Chapter 13.  The link we provide is from the Bankruptcy Court in Western Washington.  If you can afford representation, we do believe it is worth it as small mistakes can lead to possible non-dischargeability of some debts or admissions against your interest in other litigation.

As for moderate means referrals, we would recommend first contacting several private attorneys for pricing.  Compare this to the price with discount of any moderate means referrals.  If they are in the same ballpark, decide how you wish to proceed.

As for the Northwest Consumer Law Center, they can only help those close to them, only handle Chapter 7 filings, and have very limited spots.  They tend to have funding earlier in the year.  If you have complex litigation, a free bankruptcy is probably not a good idea.  If your estate is simple and no specific creditor is pursuing you, they can be an excellent source of help.

Lastly, if necessary, you can self file an emergency bankruptcy petition.  You will not need to file all schedules and documents.  You will have two weeks to complete the paperwork which may give you time to retain us or another firm to help you.  I suggest going in person to one of the federal courthouse locations (go to the link for filing on your own).  Download the petition in advance, complete the required financial certificate course (google the term, the class is cheap but must be completed first) in advance, and show up with plenty of time.