The timing of filing a bankruptcy case can be all-important.  At tax time, which is right around the corner, timing can be an issue for many people.  The tax refunds you may be entitled to receive may become property of the bankruptcy estate.  Sometimes a portion of those refunds may be exempt.  Sometimes receipt of the refunds before the case is filed is necessary so that you can hire counsel to assist you with the bankruptcy process.  How you spend your tax refunds that you receive pre-bankruptcy may be reviewed, and there may be legal consequences as to how you spent them.

There are many other timing factors that may come into play, besides just tax refunds.  For example, when you get your paychecks, when checks clear out of your bank account, when you last filed tax returns (especially if you owe back taxes), when you transferred property, when a foreclosure sale of your property is set to occur, when a divorce case you are involved in is decided by the state court, when you repaid your creditors; some or all of these may matter in any given case.  CR&L can sort through the issues and apply our knowledge of bankruptcy law to assist you in determining the optimal time for you to file a bankruptcy case.

One day I was in the dentist’s chair and the dental assistant was cleaning my teeth.  As she was cleaning, she was carrying on a conversation with me.  I am always surprised by that because I cannot speak coherently without the use of my tongue, but that doesn’t seem to bother dental assistants.  They seem to have a remarkable ability to interpret the English language spoken as if you don’t have a tongue.  Anyway, she asked me what I did for a living.  I responded, “Aye eh a ankruhey a-ur-ey.”  She took her tools out of my mouth and sighed, “A bankruptcy attorney?  Wow.  That must be depressing.”  I asked her why she thought that would be depressing.  “Because your clients are filing bankruptcy and they must be distraught.”  I explained to her that filing bankruptcies is not the only thing that bankruptcy attorneys do and that there are many other matters that require the services of bankruptcy lawyers.  She shrugged her shoulders and thrust her hands back into my mouth.

As I laid there in borrowed sunglasses staring into the bright lights above me, I started thinking about what the dental assistant had said.  I understand how someone could think that people who need bankruptcy relief might be distraught, but that is not the impression that I have of my clients.  Sure, I assume some people, maybe even most, are depressed, scared, anxious, distraught, etc. when they first come to discuss their financial problems with a bankruptcy attorney.  But that is not the lasting impression I have of my clients.  Why not?  I think I know why.

Bankruptcy is an experience that a person might undergo once in their lifetime, if at all.  Therefore, the average person seeking bankruptcy advice has no idea what to expect.  It is the fear of the unknown that makes the thought of bankruptcy so scary to so many.  Will I lose all of my clothes?  Do they take my car?  Will I lose my house?  CAN THEY TAKE MY DOG?  WHY WON’T THIS ALL JUST GO AWAY!?!

Then you come to Connolly, Rosania & Lofstedt, P.C. where I, or one of my partners, will sit down with you.  We will talk with you and answer your questions.  We will explain what bankruptcy is, the various chapters of the Bankruptcy Code that provide for differing flavors of bankruptcy relief, and the issues that you must be aware of when filing a bankruptcy.  After this initial discussion, I often notice that a client might have a different tone to his voice or a different expression on her face.  The stresses of their situation seem to have lessened in their minds.  The change doesn’t result from their problems being solved, that process has just begun.  The changes are the result of having a plan and understanding how bankruptcy can help to achieve goals that might be unattainable without the assistance of bankruptcy relief.  It is this person, the one who now has a plan that can help to relieve them of the stresses and worries they have been carrying with them, that I think of when I think of a person that is going through bankruptcy.

So if you are suffering through financial problems, don’t bury your head in the sand.  Learn what your options are and whether you and your family can benefit from bankruptcy relief.  Talking to one of the bankruptcy lawyers at Connolly, Rosania & Lofstedt, P.C. can help you make decisions that can make your financial life better, and maybe your emotional life, too.

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