Hello, this is Roger Ghai, and I practice bankruptcy law in the area of Kennesaw, Acworth, and Marietta. And a lot of times I receive questions from potential clients inquiring as to how they decide as to whether they are a good candidate, or a bad candidate for filing a bankruptcy case? So, one of the primary factors that we look at is how much debt you have and how much income you have. And let’s break this down. Let’s say that you’ve incurred $50,000 worth of credit card debt, and that you’re making $40,000 a year, or $30,000 a year. So, it will take you approximately $80,000 of income to repay that $50,000 in credit card debt. So, that is a huge factor in, me, advising somebody, whether they should file a bankruptcy case or not.
But let’s take the opposite example. Let’s just say that you only have like 10 or $15,000 in debt, that you’re making $40,000 in income. And in that case, I would tell you, you probably do not want to file a bankruptcy over 10 or $15,000 worth of debt because you can only file a bankruptcy case and have your debts discharged every eight years. So, when you file a bankruptcy case it’s a serious undertaking, and you want to have, or be in a position you don’t want to, but the circumstances should be such that there’s a significant amount of debt that you’re actually going to wipe out.
Now, another factor, important factor too in determining whether I’m going to advise somebody to file a bankruptcy case is whether they have any underlying health issues. And whether they’re going to maybe incur huge amounts of medical bills. So, if I know that you’ve got a health issue, and you’re still undergoing treatment, and you’re still undergoing huge medical bills, incurring those debts. I don’t want to file a bankruptcy case for you at that juncture in time simply because we want to file when it’s really going to be beneficial to you, and give you a true fresh financial start.
So, those are some of the factors that we use in determining whether you should file or not file. And if you have questions, depending on your own particular circumstances, feel free to call my office at 770-792-1000.
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