How Can I Afford Bankruptcy if I’m Broke?
We hear this one a lot, and it is an understandable question to pose if your wages are being
garnished or your accounts are
frozen. The quick answer is, you can't, that is if you're truly broke.
BUT…..
At Jacoby & Jacoby, we offer payment plans to those who qualify. Bankruptcy is for people seeking to bring some sanity and solvency to their financial affairs, not for those just struggling to survive. So, food, shelter, that sort of thing, must always come first. If things are tough, but not truly dire (which is usually the case), and would seem to improve without the weight of debt, phone calls, lawsuits, etc., then this is how people tend to pay the legal fees of a typical
Bankruptcy case.
Most people stop making certain debt payments (like credit cards) in the meantime to help raise the money. This is quite a popular strategy and works just fine in most circumstances. However, there are times when a wage garnishment order is about to enter or some other shoe is about to drop, and this just won't work. Those circumstances are difficult, but even in those cases solutions can sometimes be found if the money is not available from a family member, friend, or retirement fund. Moreover, it tends to be quite rare that people wait until the last minute like that to explore their options. So, in the normal case, being on a payment plan for two to three months before filing works quite well. You are able to have a lawyer to go to with questions and help with the pre-filing time (usually phone calls from debt collectors) and have the guidance to set up a case correctly.