“Bankruptcy Myths and Facts

Congress eliminated bankruptcy protections in 2005 is a common myth.

“This is a common myth, but it is simply not true.

Creditors want you to believe this is the case because they do not want you to know that you have options.

“In 2005, there was a lot of fear-based advertising by bankruptcy attorneys right before the law went into effect.

This lead to the myth that bankruptcy was no longer

available to people who needed bankruptcy help.

“What is true is that the Credit industry did their best to eliminate as much of the rights for consumers and small businesses being able to use bankruptcy as a tool to control debts.

Fortunately, their success was not complete.

“To understand what happened, you need to know a few facts:

First, prior to 2004 the bankruptcyLaws worked as they should.

Good people who needed help gotthe bankruptcy protection they needed.

“Bad people who were committing fraud & flakes who did not needbankruptcy help were denied. A few people lied or hid assets and received bankruptcy protection they did not deserve.

These were relatively few and, when found, had their discharges revoked.

“The credit industry did not like the fact that the bankruptcy laws worked. So, devious villains that the are, they thought, “Gee, what could we creditors do to break the system? Then , as any villain with lots of money would do, they decided to rewrite the bankruptcy laws in their favor.

“ They paid bribes . . . Errr . . . Political contributions to get the legislation passed.They then called the legislationThe “Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention & Consumer Protection Act of 2005.” The Law was supposedly passed to “protect” society from bad people who could pay their creditors.

“Of course, it was the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing.

If it were labeled using truth inadvertising, it should have been called the “Bankruptcy Abuse Persecution of Consumers & Creditor’s Protection Act of 2005”

“While it did make bankruptcy much more complex and more expensive, most people who need to file still can if they have skilled representation.

The bankruptcy law was designed to make it dangerous for people with income or assets such as a home to file without the advice and skill of a bankruptcy attorney.

“Many people without representation of a good bankruptcy lawyer lose cars,

bank accounts,

tax refunds and even their homes.

“I know because I regularly get people in who are losing things because of poor or non-existent representation. They risked tens of thousands of dollars to save the cost of hiring a good bankruptcy lawyer, and lost much more than the attorney would have cost them in the first place.

“Let’s put it this way, would you want to use the veterinarian’s assistant to do brain surgery on you because they can read a book on the subject and will charge you less money than the brain surgeon would?

“There are many people out there, including paralegals and, unfortunately, some attorneys, that think bankruptcy is just about filling out papers.

It is not. It is about knowing where the land mines are.

“It is about timing, exemption planning, income planning, why you might want to change banks and so much more. Bankruptcy is only one tool. One among many to use to help people. The real work is in prebankruptcy planning. That is where

the quality of the attorney makes all the difference.

“If you think you need good advice as to your options in dealing with your financial problems, don’t make seeing a bankruptcy attorney your last resort. That is true even if you do not intend to file a bankruptcy or if filing bankruptcy may be a choice of last resort for you.

You need to know all your rights and options before you start making financial decisions that could come back to haunt you.

“Isn’t it wise to get as much knowledge as possible?

Remember the saying, “Knowledge is power.”

Isn’t it time you got your power back?

“I’m Gary Fraley, a California State Bar

Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law. I have over 35 years experience in bankruptcy

law in over 10,000 cases. Give me a call at (916) 485-5444 To schedule YOUR free attorney consultation.