Qualification for Bankruptcy in Oklahoma
To qualify for a fresh financial start is not as hard as most people think. Contrary to popular myths, bankruptcy does not mean you have lost everything. Bankruptcy is a way to keep you from losing everything. In most cases, you qualify for bankruptcy in Oklahoma when you do not earn enough income to pay your debts.
You do not have to wait until you are down to your last penny to file bankruptcy. In fact, many people make the mistake of waiting too long to file because they think they might not qualify for bankruptcy. By then, creditors might have already begun to garnish wages, a foreclosure sale might be scheduled or a bank might be ready to repossess the vehicle you use to get to work.
After federal bankruptcy laws were rewritten in 2005, myths circulated that said medical bills or credit card debt could no longer be discharged in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. The myths were wrong. Bankruptcy reform did not close the door for people who genuinely need bankruptcy relief. If your debts and living expenses exceed your income, chances are you qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
What is the Chapter 7 Means Test?
There might be reasons to wait before you file for bankruptcy – maybe you are waiting to find out about a new job opportunity or for a property to sell – but if your debts have piled up it is never too soon to find out if you qualify for bankruptcy in Oklahoma. Some people rely on hearsay or try to use online resources that emulate the Chapter 7 means test to find out if they qualify for bankruptcy.
Without informed guidance from a qualified Oklahoma bankruptcy attorney, those self-help approaches can leave you with the wrong answer. When you try to go it alone, you can leave out living expenses, miscalculate your income according to means test guidelines or misunderstand how derived income is calculated for the means test “look back period.” These concepts might seem foreign at first, but a bankruptcy attorney who has handled bankruptcy filings on a daily basis knows what they mean.
The Chapter 7 means test relies on your current monthly income, including wages and all other sources of income derived during the past six months. On the other side of the means test, all of your debts and all of your living expenses are added up. If debts and expenses outweigh your income under the means test, you qualify for bankruptcy.
How to Find Out if You Qualify for Bankruptcy
To determine whether you presumptively qualify for bankruptcy, a Tulsa bankruptcy attorney can evaluate your monthly income, your living expenses and your outstanding debts. In a brief telephone conversation, an Oklahoma bankruptcy lawyer at Financial Freedom Bankruptcy Lawyers of Tulsa can evaluate your financial position and provide an instant answer about debt relief available to you under the bankruptcy code. A qualified bankruptcy attorney knows the kinds of details a bankruptcy court reviews in the Chapter 7 means test.
For a free consultation with a bankruptcy attorney in Tulsa, contact Financial Freedom Bankruptcy Lawyers of Tulsa today at (918) 786-9600 or send an e-mail using the link at the top of this page. There is no reason not to know whether you qualify for bankruptcy in Oklahoma. The sooner you find out, the sooner you will have the information you need to make an informed decision about when to file for bankruptcy.
