People call our office all the time wanting to talk to me “real fast.” Don’t get me wrong, I love speaking with my clients and everyone in our office is equipped to help…but the answer isn’t always so simple.
And that’s because, quite simply: There is no such thing as a quick answer to most bankruptcy questions. Or rather, there are no good “real fast” answers about bankruptcy.
See, bankruptcy is one of the most nuanced parts of our legal system. It is a blend of mostly federal law, with a bit of local rules and state law sprinkled in for good measure. It’s why so many people who dabble in bankruptcy so frequently screw it up. You’ve got to know your stuff to do bankruptcy the right way.
Everything depends on the facts
Your facts.
In order to help you out and provide you with good advice, a bankruptcy lawyer needs to know a lot of facts about your situation.
Have you filed before, did you get a discharge, how long have you lived here and where were you located before?
What all do you own, are you the sole owner or is it joint tenancy?
What’s your income and how do you make it?
Do you have dependents or do you owe taxes or domestic support?
The list goes on.
In Bankruptcy, Quick is almost always dirty
The best doctors take their time with a patient, good builders measure twice and cut once…
Good lawyers take the time to examine what’s happening in your situation and then apply the law to your case.
If I don’t know what’s happening in your case, the information you’ll get from me is most likely useless, potentially even dangerous.
I have an obligation to provide you with the best information possible, it’s part of the oath I took when I became a lawyer. That’s why we ask you to disclose EVERYTHING and to answer our questions truthfully.
“Online Advice”
Knowing all the facts is why relying on some internet “resource” for legal advice is dangerous. It’s why we put disclaimers on our page about the advice in our blog. Yes, it’s good advice…otherwise I wouldn’t put it out there, but it may not be the BEST advice for you because we don’t know your situation.
When you post a question in some online forum or “click here for a FREE bankruptcy evaluation” you only disclose what you think is important or are willing to disclose to the public.
The facts you throw out there may not be the ones necessary to answer the question. Even if you provide good information about some aspect of your situation, other issues could cause problems.
You can certainly use the internet to learn about bankruptcy as a whole and to figure out what information an attorney will need in order to help you.
But remember this…Don’t do anything until you’ve talked to a competent bankruptcy attorney about what’s going on in YOUR individual situation, real fast equals real danger.
If you need sound advice about what to do in your particular situation, please contact us. Don’t go it alone in one of the most complex fields of law there is.