VIII. Complications Inevitably Arise

Should you retain the services of a bankruptcy lawyer in New Jersey even if your case seems cut and dry?
Let’s assume that you are ‘attorney averse.’ In other words, you want to do everything you can to solve your own problems and manage your own debt and money issues. Some people may have the talents and skills to do so. But most people — including most lawyers and financial specialists — can quickly find themselves overwhelmed by paperwork, creditor harassment, and complications.
In the eighth post of our 10 Reasons to Hire a New Jersey Bankruptcy Attorney blog series, we will discuss how a strategically-focused New Jersey bankruptcy attorney can help you resolve complications as they arise, keep you on a straight and narrow path to rehabilitating your finances and budget, protecting key assets, and stopping creditors from harassing you.
What complications could arise?

1. Discovery of new assets and/or liabilities — As you fill out your paperwork and examine your debts and assets under the microscope, you may discover critical new information. For instance, you may find that you have an inheritance or a trust that was left to you somewhere. Or, you may uncover some old credit card debt from the late 1990s. How do you report these new assets and liabilities? How do you prioritize repayments? Questions abound, and if you don’t understand the subtleties of the New Jersey bankruptcy code, you could potentially make an inaccurate statement that could delay or vastly complicate your filing.
2. New creditors could appear out of the woodwork — While you are filing for bankruptcy, a new creditor — or creditors — may initiate actions against you. These actions can even include lawsuits. Unless you have a reliable attorney on your team to strategize how to respond to these individuals or organizations, your entire debt management plan can be thrown off.
3. Circumstances in your own life can change — dramatically — If suddenly, you lose your job or lose a significant income stream, the ‘facts on the ground’ can change significantly. In cases like these, it’s extremely helpful to be able to turn to a competent and reliable NJ bankruptcy lawyer to figure out how to respond effectively.
4. Simple is never so simple — As author Nassim Taleb points out in his book, The Black Swan, it is essential to expect the unexpected. If you proceed with your bankruptcy filing on your own under the assumption that, since you have a simple case, the resolution should be simple; you may be in for some unwelcome surprises. Taleb uses the example of a Thanksgiving turkey to illustrate this point. The turkey spends most of his life blissfully eating feed and clucking about with his fellow turkeys. Then one day — a day that starts like any other — the farmer comes in and chops off his head. The moral is that you never know when some radical unfortunate event will completely change your circumstances. Thus, it behooves you to exercise an abundance of caution when it comes to planning your finances.

For help discerning a creditable, proactive strategy for your NJ bankruptcy filing, connect with the Law Offices of Robert Manchel today at (866) 503 5655. Attorney Manchel deals exclusively with foreclosure resolution and bankruptcy cases, and he is certified as a consumer law bankruptcy attorney by the American Board of Certification.
To learn about the minimal upfront investment required when seeking the help of a New Jersey bankruptcy attorney, please refer to our next post.