You are like me. I am high anxiety and have unrealistic fears about different things. Most of us would have a normal fear about speaking to a bankruptcy attorney about a debt problem. Why? We humans have a problem with losing, defeat, and not paying our bills right? It causes us to be embarrassed, feel defeated, and just generally really crappy inside. With high anxiety, I can accept problems will happen in life- I don’t have a problem with that. What I do have a problem with, is not finding a solution to those problems. For me, not finding a solution to the problem is worse than the problem itself.
So, if I were faced with overwhelming debt, I would be scared too! My anxiety would be in overdrive for sure. I would worry about meeting with someone who was not warm and inviting or who judged me for being in debt or who didn’t hold my hand like I want them to.
These fears are perfectly normal to have. But, can I tell you something? The are irrational fears- your mind is playing tricks on you and here is why. Have you ever gone to the doctor with an infection in an embarrassing place? Or have you ever been in the hospital period? My brother-in-law spent 6 weeks in the hospital getting his ass wiped by others. You lose all your dignity in the hospital right?
Trust me when I tell you the doctors and nurses are not embarrassed about your infection or its location. Their objective is to find the medicine to cure the infection and solve the problem.
Debt is not interesting either. We know you did not incur debt knowing you were going to file bankruptcy. Debt is commonly incurred through 1) business failure, 2) income drop, 3) medical problems, 4) divorce or relationship break up and 5) bad financial decisions (we have all made them because we are human). Debt is an unfortunate fact of life- and sometimes it just gets out of control.
When you have an infection- who do you go see? A doctor! When you have a debt problem, you should see a bankruptcy lawyer. But, how do you overcome the fear of speaking with a bankruptcy attorney or their staff?
1) THE ATTORNEY AND THE STAFF ARE HUMAN AND HAVE PROBLEMS JUST LIKE YOU!
Surprise! Us attorneys and our teams are human just like YOU! I have done bankruptcy work for team members before and have filed bankruptcies for attorneys. We go through divorces, have medical problems, and have debt problems too! For so many of us, we think the workers at a bank would never have debt problems right? Or, the bank president could never have a debt problem right? Or a doctor could never have a debt problem right? WRONG!
We have filed bankruptcy for everyone of these people many times over.
At Kain & Scott, we are human beings afflicted by the same things that happen to anyone else. Marriage problems, debt problems, medical problems, etc. What makes us the same is our common humanity.
I love that commercial where a tree branch falls on the car roof or you drive through the garage door etc. As humans, we don’t always make the best decisions or do the right things. Big deal. Our weaknesses are what make us all common.
So, if you think that we will look down upon you, guess again. I told someone just the other day when she thanked me for being so kind- I said no thank you for having the courage and anxiety to come meet with me. She was the one being brave, not me.
At Kain & Scott, we operate with extreme humility. In fact, that is where our motto comes from: we don’t judge you, we HELP you get your life back. Okay, I am sorry, this is starting to become like a commercial and I apologize for that. But, you get my point, please remember that every bankruptcy lawyer and their team has their own crosses to carry. We are all humans!
2) BANKRUPTCY IS A SOLUTION TO A DEBT PROBLEM
There- I said it! Remember, I don’t mind problems, but I need solutions to those problems. When you meet with a bankruptcy attorney in Minnesota, you are meeting to discuss solutions to those problems. Sometimes, bankruptcy is not the answer, sometimes it is. Sometimes there is a non-bankruptcy solution. A good bankruptcy attorney will lay out all of your possible solutions to a debt problem both bankruptcy solutions and non bankruptcy solutions.
Because bankruptcy is a possible solution to the problem it is incumbent upon you to learn how the solution would work for your family. For example, did you know there is a government sponsored debt consolidation program where most people don’t pay all of their debts in full and the remaining unpaid debt gets wiped out tax free!? I know right! WOW!
Many of our clients look on line for information about bankruptcy. That is perfectly ok. But everyone’s situation is different and how a chapter 7 bankruptcy works for one person is different than for another person. There are plenty of reasons why a bankruptcy attorney may suggest a chapter 7 bankruptcy for one person but a chapter 13 for another person.
I know of no other solution to a debt problem that gets your life back quicker than a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy. Every month nearly 10-12k Minnesotans choose bankruptcy to eliminate their debt problems and move on with their lives.
I have never had a person regret filing bankruptcy but I do have clients that have one common regret. They regret they waited so long to file the bankruptcy.
3) CHOOSE A BANKRUPTCY LAW FIRM FORMER CLIENTS LIKE!
You say, how do I know this? Easy- look on line and read all the google reviews you can about what former clients have to say about their experience with the law firm. What better way to see how you will be treated by the firm than to see what others have had to say about their experience?
To me, there is no other better way to gauge how you will be treated than what other former clients have taken the time to write on their own. Obviously, if the reviews of the law firm’s service is poor or scathing, avoid going there. If you read reviews where the service is rude or there are big delays in getting back to you or the firm doesn’t get back to you, you may want to steer clear.
On the other hand if the reviews of the service people experienced at the law firm is excellent and the communication has been great, that is a good indicator of the service you will experience as well.
For me, I rely on reviews before I hire someone to perform a service and I think more and more people look to the reviews before they buy a product or service. The reviews tend to be an honest indicator of what the service or product will be like. Oh I suppose occasionally there is a disgruntled person who posts an ugly review but if the vast majority of reviews are scathing, you may want to move onto the next firm.
4) ASK FAMILY AND FRIENDS WHO THEY WOULD RECOMMEND
Besides reviews from former clients ask family and friends if they know of any bankruptcy law firm that treats their clients really well. I would venture to guess that 60% of our clients come from referrals. That is a huge number. In this kind of a business, family and friends can be a really important resource for referrals to bankruptcy law firms if they have had to deal with a bankruptcy law firm before.
If you need to file a chapter 7 bankruptcy in Maple Grove, Minnesota, ask your friend or neighbor in Maple Grove who they would recommend you go see. There is no amount of advertising dollars that can make up for a strong referral from a family member or friend.
A referral from a family member or friend will go a long way in assuring you that the professional you will meet will be courteous and professional.
5) DON’T LIKE THE FIRST LAW OFFICE, GO TO ANOTHER!
I amazed by the number of people that are willing to put up with rude staff and lawyers. If you call an office and want to set up a consultation and the person on the other end is rude right off the bat, why on earth would you set up an appointment with them?
You think this does not happen right? I wish it did not. However, it does happen and more than you think. We get calls all the time from clients who simply made another phone call to another office and they were rude on the phone.
Worse, when you go to your free consultation, if the meeting location seems awkward, weird, dingy, and unprofessional, don’t walk away, run! When you meet with a bankruptcy lawyer, you should be greeted by a receptionist in a nice, well-appointed office.
We have even heard of lawyers meeting with clients in their home? What? No way. I can remember my wife wanting to go to a home based business that did massages and we back out of our appointment because it’s just too weird. A home is not a professional space it’s home!
I don’t care to smell what is on the stove for supper or deal with your dog licking my leg- gross! No way, I want to meet a professional in a professional space.
If the lawyer you meet with is antiseptic and rude, arrogant, or just a plain asshole, run! Remember, you are the boss, the lawyer is supposed to be your servant, serving you, not the other way around. If you feel like the ego from the lawyer is simply to putrid for your tastes, no worries, leave and call another law firm.
If you have already hired the law firm, and the service is crappy, fire them and go somewhere else. I literally just met with a couple who met with another bankruptcy law firm. The bankruptcy law firm dumped the clients because their case was too complicated? And the law firm didn’t tell them they were letting their case go for 3 weeks!? Meanwhile, the couples bank account was levied and the couple needed help, bad.
The couple was really nice and their case wasn’t hard at all. My point is, if the bankruptcy law firm can dump you that easy, you can also fire them easily. Don’t settle for second class treatment. I can’t even imagine being in debt up to your eyeballs and then getting service that makes you feel worse than when you walked through the damn door.
CONCLUSION
Remember, we are all human beings. So, by definition we are all broken and have problems. Because we are broken we share the same common humanity. It is important for you to find a firm that shares that same view of humanity.
Incomes fall, businesses fail, relationships break up, medical problems occur, and we all make bad financial decisions. My team is no different than the rest of humanity. Bankruptcy is a solution to a debt problem- it does make debt go away.
When you feel the time is right, and you are looking for a Minnesota bankruptcy lawyer near you, look for a bankruptcy law firm that has been reviewed on google a lot. There is no single better way to find out how a law firm will treat you than to see what others before you have already said. If the law firm has little to no reviews you have to wonder why that is too? Are they not memorable enough to give a review too? Of course, what you want to stay away from is the multiple negative google reviews of a firm’s service that is poor.
Asking friends and family who they would recommend is also very high on the top of the things to do. Trusted family and friends will give you’re their input before you use an office as well.
In the end, if you don’t like the first law firm experience, go to another. Do not settle for the “biggest” or the “best” if you feel as though the service you received is poor. If you feel the service is poor to begin with do you think it’s going to get better? Likely not.
