Bankruptcy Indiana

Over the years, I learned, “life can be brutal, but bankruptcy need not be.” This week, I’ve devoted my Bankruptcy in Indiana articles to showing why that statement is true.

I think that all the Anderson, Bloomington, Indianapolis, and Columbus bankruptcy lawyers who work in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices agree that our clients sense ‘brutality” in life mostly because of the feeling they have that there’s no one listening, no one answering their concerns, that they’re filling out computerized form while their lives are falling apart.  The only people talking to them directly are the ones they’d rather not hear from – bill collectors who are harassing them at home and at work!

That’s one of the reasons I think the bankruptcy process itself is designed to counteract that impersonality.  I always emphasize that bankruptcy is a process, not an event.  And part of that process is what’s called the creditors’ meeting. 

This is an actual meeting that takes place within a month and a half from the time a bankruptcy is filed.  The meeting is typically presided over by a bankruptcy trustee appointed by the court, and it might be in an office or a private room at a federal courthouse.  As a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana, I am present at this meeting, along with my clients.  The purpose of the meeting is to get all the pertinent information “out on the table” – the creditors are invited to come (usually they do not choose to attend). 

The way I see things, this creditors’ meeting is the kindest, least brutal process for all concerned. It’s personal, not just a computer page. It’s low key, and it’s information-gathering. You’re asked why you’re filing personal bankruptcy in Indiana (and whether you're filing under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana or filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy Indiana, and sometimes asked to explain something on one of the bankruptcy forms you’ve filled out (with your attorney’s help). You’ll be under oath to tell the truth, but there’s no “cross-examination” or anything like TV courtroom dramas – as I said, the purpose is to deal with the real situation in the most helpful manner possible.

As a final sentiment for this week’s articles on why bankruptcy in Indiana is the cure, not the cause of whatever brutality people suffer in their financial lives, I think it’s important to talk abou tforgiveness. In bankruptcy, the word “forgiveness” has a technical meaning, because in bankruptcy a debt need never be paid once it’s been forgiven.  In the final analysis, though, it’s the clients who need to forgive.  In order for individuals to successful emerge from bankruptcy, they must move on in their lives. 

If they need student loan debt help or help to stop foreclosure, they need to "forgive" the government. People can never really make a fresh financial start until they’ve forgiven the creditors, their spouses, their children, their business partners, their employers, on and on.  Mostly they need to forgive themselves!