Choosing A Bankruptcy Attorney

Do you need to choose a bankruptcy attorney?  If so you should make your choice wisely.  Many people go price-shopping for a bankruptcy attorney, but this is definitely the wrong way to choose one.  Think about this: Would you choose a doctor this way?

The best way to choose an attorney is to find one who you think can do the work well or at least competently, and with whom you will get along and be able to work well with.  Choosing an attorney because they are the cheapest one could result in bad representation or a very unpleasant relationship.  Your attorney doing good work and getting along well with you is much more important than saving a little money.  If you end up with bad representation or an unpleasant relationship, you will be sorry that you tried to save a few dollars an attorney.  Bad representation could cost you much more than any amount that you might save by hiring a cheaper attorney, and ask yourself how much having a good relationship with your attorney is worth.

Additionally, there is not usually much difference between attorneys’ fees for consumer bankruptcy.  In chapter 13 cases, the bankruptcy court sets the attorneys’ fees.  The only difference between attorneys might be the up front amount of the fees that you must pay before your case will be filed, but many bankruptcy attorneys will work with you to give you a payment plan that you can afford.  In chapter 7 cases, attorneys set their own fees, but the differences between them are rather small because of the competition for clients, and for the obvious reason that people filing chapter 7 bankruptcy simply don’t have a lot of money.  So even if you get a lower price on a chapter 7 case, you will not save that much.

If you have serious financial problems, contact a bankruptcy attorney today.  For your own good, consider all of the factors here before hiring an attorney, and don’t just hire an attorney because they are the cheapest one.  You don’t want to end up being sorry that you saved a few bucks on a lawyer while you lost a lot more because the lawyer didn’t do a good job, or while you now have to work with an attorney with whom you don’t get along.  As my mother taught me, you generally get what you pay for in life, and things are cheap for a reason.