Tackling The Cost Of BankruptcyOne of the most unfortunate facts about why some debtors delay or totally forgo filing a necessary bankruptcy is the cost and their perceived inability to afford that cost.  Yes, it is completely understandable that a debtor who can’t afford to pay their mortgage may not be able to easily afford the fees associated with filing bankruptcy; but it is not impossible.  Many debtors in dire financial straits work with their bankruptcy attorney to create a plan so that they can afford their bankruptcy costs.  Below are a few tips:

  1. Save some of your income.  If you are considering bankruptcy or even if you are not sure about filing bankruptcy, you need to make sure that you are saving some of your money.  There is no worse mistake than spending every last dime you earn trying to pay creditors.  The truth is that you need to put some money into savings even if it is just for emergencies.
  2. Stop paying unsecured creditors.  If you are considering a bankruptcy filing and have credit card bills, you may want to consider stopping your payments to them.  If you have an automatic bill pay setup to your bank account, put a stop on it, even if you have to close the account.  You can use the money you’re not paying those unsecured creditors to invest in your bankruptcy filing. But make sure that you do not charge anything else to your credit cards once you decide that you are going to file bankruptcy.
  3. Talk to your bankruptcy attorney about a payment plan.  Many bankruptcy attorneys offer easy to handle installment plans that work with your finances.  Also, you may be able to tack on some of your bankruptcy costs to your repayment plan if you are filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.