A Guide to Hiring a Minnesota Bankruptcy Attorney
Bankruptcy is a legal and financial process that can happen to both a debtor and a creditor. A Minnesota bankruptcy attorney can represent either side, but most Minnesota bankruptcy attorneys prefer to just represent only one during their career. If you are unable to pay your financial debts, you may consider hiring a Minnesota bankruptcy attorney to help you get through the legal process for your bankruptcy case.
There are two general issues that Minnesota bankruptcy attorneys deal with, so if you are dealing with either, you might want to speak to a Minnesota bankruptcy attorney. The first is pre-bankruptcy consultations, which are completed to find options to prevent bankruptcy. If you are already declaring bankruptcy, then a Minnesota bankruptcy attorney can also help in filing for bankruptcy.
Filing for bankruptcy can be a stressful and a complex procedure, and if you make some bankruptcy errors, you will have an elevated chance of having the case rejected by the court. It is often in your best interest to employ an experienced Minnesota bankruptcy attorney for your bankruptcy case. You want to find a person someone who can assist in explaining the basics behind the bankruptcy system and your situation.
A good Minnesota bankruptcy attorney can advise you in all the necessary documentation you need in order to legally support your case. Because Minnesota bankruptcy attorneys are extremely knowledgeable about the relevant bankruptcy law in Minnesota, they can assist you in your legal case by answering all your critical questions or worries you may have about how to follow through with your Minnesota bankruptcy process.
What Responsibilities Do Minnesota Bankruptcy Attorneys Have?
Although you can file bankruptcy by yourself and without the assistance of a Minnesota bankruptcy attorney, it is often in the best interest to speak with a Minnesota bankruptcy attorney regarding your bankruptcy case first. You will probably see better case results if you decide to hire a Minnesota bankruptcy attorney. You may be able to find a suitable Minnesota bankruptcy attorney who can provide you with a low-cost or free consultation meeting where you can carefully discuss your case's details.
While you may have no trouble handling a very simple bankruptcy case without Minnesota bankruptcy attorneys, like Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it is very difficult to handle complicated bankruptcy cases without resorting to hiring a Minnesota bankruptcy attorney, like in the case of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case. These cases often require close attention to minor details when undergoing negotiations with creditors, writing up debt repayment plans, and other bankruptcy proceedings.
When you hire a Minnesota bankruptcy attorney to assist in your case, their duties also include the following:
• Managing their law firm
• Drafting relevant documents for your legal case
• Reviewing court dockets and attending court hearings
• Advising clients regarding options
• Filing the needed bankruptcy forms
How to Hire Minnesota Bankruptcy Attorneys
Financial problems are always a major concern for anyone. Finding the right Minnesota bankruptcy attorneys as early on as possible is very important since this early planning or action can mean you have better choices and stronger control over your current and future financial situation. You can first begin the process by finding potential Minnesota bankruptcy attorneys that can help with your legal case. You can search for these Minnesota bankruptcy attorneys through referrals from family, friends, employers, coworkers, or other business professionals like bankers or CPAs. Alternatively, you may also wish to contact the American bar Association or other local bar associations for attorney referrals, utilize online referral services, or check for local advertising for Minnesota bankruptcy attorneys.
Do some preliminary research on Minnesota bankruptcy attorneys you find to figure out which ones are specifically able to handle your bankruptcy case. You can try to online searches on the Minnesota attorneys to find out information about their practices, legal articles and blogs they write, reviews by past clients, or legal cases they were involved in.
Consultation with Minnesota Bankruptcy Attorneys
Once you meet Minnesota bankruptcy attorneys for consultations, you will be able to explain your case briefly so that you do not take a lot of time and the attorney can easily make some observations about your legal case. Some important documents and information to provide the Minnesota bankruptcy attorney during the consultation include:
• A list of all your creditors so to spot any potential conflicts of interest
• Documentation describing liabilities and debts
• Originals/copies of financing or loan documents such as the agreement, security agreement, guaranties, insurance policy, title policies, promissory note, mortgages, notice of default, and deeds of trusts.
• Proof of payments (money order receipts, cancelled checks, bank statements)
• Correspondences with creditors
• Foreclosure documents
You should also prepare some questions that you want to ask during the first meeting with Minnesota bankruptcy attorneys to ensure that he or she is right for the case. These questions include:
• How long have you practiced bankruptcy law?
• Do I need to file for bankruptcy?
• Are there any options besides bankruptcy?
• Do you more often represent creditors or debtors?
• How many cases have you handled that are similar to my bankruptcy case?
• How long will it take to resolve this kind of case?
• Can you predict any future problems with my case, and if so, how would they be handled?
• Will you handle my bankruptcy case personally or will the case be passed to a different attorney in the practice?
Fees for Minnesota Bankruptcy Attorneys
After discussing the details of the case with Minnesota bankruptcy attorneys, you can then discuss the costs and fees of hiring the attorney. You should make sure to ask for a copy of the Minnesota bankruptcy attorney’s retainer agreement and carefully go over the agreement before deciding to hire an attorney. You can also ask the following questions to learn more about the costs involved:
• What is an estimated cost for my legal issue?
• What is your hourly fee or flat rate?
• Is the retainer payable up front?
• Is a contingency fee possible for my case?
• Can any of the work be billed at a lower rate by using a junior attorney or other staff?
• Is any unused portion of the retainer refundable?
