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I’m Steve Kramer of the Kramer law firm. I’m a Florida bankruptcy attorney. And today
we’re going to talk about what do bankruptcy attorneys look for in a case? The first thing
we look for is the means test, that’s what tells us whether you’re allowed to file
a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The means test tells us how much income you’re making and if
you fit inside the guidelines, you can file a bankruptcy – a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. And
if you don’t, you’re not going to be able to. Now, there are some exceptions and there
are some ways that we can work this rule because sometimes you can deduct expenses against
your income. But that’s a different conversation that we need to have. The next thing we’ve
got to look at are assets. We need to figure out if a bankruptcy makes sense. Now, Chapter
7 is liquidation. That means you’re eliminating your assets and you’re eliminating your
debts. Now you’ve got a certain amount of assets that are exempt from the bankruptcy.
But let’s say you have a $50,000 car. It might not make sense to file bankruptcy if
you’ve got $50,000 in debt, because it’s going to even out. So that’s someething
we’ve got to look at. The other thing we’ve got to look at are debts. How are extensive
are the debts and can we work with them another way? If your goal is to stay in your house
because you’ve a foreclosure and you just want some time, well bankruptcy might not
be the right option for you. And if there’s other ways to resolve your debts – let’s
say you’ve got $12,000 dollars in credit card debt – we might be able to settle that
for a lesser sum like $3 or $4,000 dollars. It depends on the case. Bottom line is we
want to explore every option possible. That’s the good thing about our firm, we do more
then bankruptcy so we can give you good advice outside of bankruptcy too. Finally, if we
don’t have to file bankruptcy and it doesn’t make sense, we’re going to look for those
other alternatives. And that’s what you want in an attorney is to give you the lay
of the lands, so you know what direction to go. Why am I telling you this? Because you
need to have good advice and good direction for your attorney. I deal with this every
day. Call me at the number below and I’d love to talk about your situation with you.
Thanks for watching. Also, listen, if you like this video and you’re watching Facebook
or YouTube, click the “Like” button below us, so that your friends and family can get
the benefit of everything I’m telling you right now. Thanks for watching, I’m Steve
Kramer.