Blog Post

Avoid This One Major Mistake When Filing Bankruptcy

Steven J. Stirparo, Esq. • Aug 08, 2019
bankruptcy lawyer delaware

You can trust the experience of a Delaware Bankruptcy Attorney

Although for many people the word “bankruptcy” carries with it a negative stigma, the fact is that bankruptcy saves many individuals and families from financial ruin and restores financial peace and hope to those who have given up. As a bankruptcy lawyer in Delaware for more than two decades, I can tell you from experience that bankruptcy changes lives for the better and can often save you from overwhelming, and oftentimes crushing, debt. Such debt causes an enormous amount of stress, anxiety and worry that interferes with your ability to function at your job and at home. It can also cause you to lose your job and assets such as your house and car and, in some cases, may even cost you your marriage and family. Bankruptcy helps alleviate the stress by discharging such debt. It gives you a fresh start and prevents your creditors from continuing to harass you with non-stop telephone calls day and night trying to pressure you into paying debt you can’t afford with money you don’t have. 

Hire a Delaware Bankruptcy Attorney

However, don’t try to file bankruptcy on your own but instead hire a professional bankruptcy lawyer in Delaware (or in whatever state you reside). It is a major mistake to file on your own. Let me illustrate this with an example. A few years ago, a person came to my law office for a free initial bankruptcy consultation. After discussing with the person their financial situation, my staff and I discussed bankruptcy and informed the person of the ways filing bankruptcy could help alleviate their financial problems. We also discussed how much it would cost to file bankruptcy. A few months later, that same person called my office frantic and upset. The person told me that to save money, they filed bankruptcy on their own, but soon realized it was a mistake and was in way over their head. The person needed to provide certain information or documents to the court by a certain date or their case would be dismissed, but wasn’t sure exactly what documents or information was needed or how to correctly provide them. Unfortunately, this person committed the major mistake of filing bankruptcy without an experienced lawyer to represent them and learned the hard way that it was unwise to have done so.   

Most potential clients have no way of knowing how difficult and confusing bankruptcy law is to understand, which is why they need to hire a lawyer familiar with consumer bankruptcy law who can successfully navigate and guide them through the bankruptcy process. By filing bankruptcy on their own, a person makes their case more difficult, more time consuming and more expensive for the lawyer who is retained after bankruptcy is filed because it takes that lawyer much more time to review the information that was filed and determine what information is incorrect and/or missing. The lawyer must then file amended schedules with Bankruptcy Court to correct each of the incorrect schedules. After more than two decades as a bankruptcy lawyer in Delaware, I have had to rescue many individuals who tried to represent themselves only to realize they were in over their heads. Unfortunately for them, it cost them more money in the long run to retain my services after they filed bankruptcy on their own than it would have cost them had they hired me in the first place. 

Therefore, whatever you do, don’t try to file for bankruptcy yourself (even though it is perfectly legal to do so) because it is a huge and costly mistake. Save yourself time, money, and a lot of aggravation by retaining the legal services of an experienced consumer bankruptcy lawyer in Delaware (or in the state that you reside) like me to represent you. Not only will I protect your interests, but I will also successfully guide you through the process as I have done for so many others. 

Please contact Stirparo Law at 302-479-9555 or email stirparolaw@comcast.net to schedule a free one-hour initial consultation. 
Stirparo Law is a debt relief agency that helps people discharge their debts through bankruptcy.  The content of this website is for advertising and general informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. 

Personal Injury Attorney Wilmington DE

By Steven Stirparo • 04 Sep, 2019
When it comes to getting the maximum amount of compensation in your claim, a personal injury attorney in Wilmington DE, must be involved. A personal injury attorney from Stirparo Law ensures you get the compensation you deserve.

Personal Injury Law Firm Wilmington DE

By Steven Stirparo • 04 Sep, 2019
A personal injury law firm Wilmington de is there for you at your worst. At Stirparo Law, our goal is to help you get financial compensation for your medical treatment and make up for the wages lost due to your injuries.
Delaware Bankruptcy Attorney

Does a Sheriff Sale mean I am losing my house?

By Steven J. Stirparo, Esq. • 11 Aug, 2019
Yes, if a Sheriff sale of your home is scheduled, and you do not take the necessary steps to prevent it from occurring, you could lose your home. However, before a Sheriff sale can be scheduled in Delaware, it takes at least four to five months for the mortgage foreclosure process to be completed since a mortgage company must first file a mortgage foreclosure lawsuit against the owners of the real estate, serve the homeowners with a copy of the lawsuit, proceed with mandatory foreclosure mediation, which is required in Delaware in most situations, and obtain judgment against the homeowner so that a Sheriff sale of the property can be scheduled. Therefore, as a Delaware bankruptcy attorney, I can tell you that despite threatening statements by mortgage company representatives that you are going to lose your home the next day unless you immediately bring your mortgage payments current, such threats are false and meant to intimidate the homeowner into making payments. As stated above, Delaware requires mandatory mortgage foreclosure mediation, which means that if the homeowner resides in the property, the homeowners can elect mediation and try to attempt to work out a resolution with the mortgage company that allows the homeowner to keep the property and remain in their home. This generally occurs in the form of a loan modification agreement that brings the mortgage current by adding the mortgage arrears to the principal of the loan and extending the loan term by a certain number of years. Since it takes several months for the mortgage mediation hearing to be scheduled, that gives the homeowner time to provide the mortgage company with the number of financial documents required by the mortgage company in the loan modification process to determine whether the homeowners qualify for a loan modification of their mortgage.
Share by: