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Do I Need A Lawyer?

No. You do not need a lawyer to final bankruptcy.

You can file bankruptcy without hiring a lawyer; just like you can pull your own wisdom tooth out of your head or take a bullet out of your arm by yourself, saving the cost of a surgeon by using a butcher knife.

But, would you? Of course not. It costs money to hire a lawyer, just like it costs money to hire a dentist or surgeon. You do it because you want the expertise and because you don’t want to take chances with your life or your future.

There are companies on TV and on the web that will encourage you to file bankruptcy without a lawyer. Their pitch is that “You can file bankruptcy without a lawyer”. That is true, just like you can take the bullet out of your arm by yourself. The bad thing is that these ads give you the impression that it is safe or appropriate to do so.

The truth is: It is NOT safe or appropriate to file bankruptcy without an attorney.

If you need to file bankruptcy, money is tight. I understand. That goes without saying, but it makes no sense to be “penny-wise and pound-foolish”. Bankruptcy law is very complicated, with many twists and turns, and with traps for the unwary.

Without an attorney you could well file a bankruptcy where there is no need, or put your house or car at risk for no reason, or file at the wrong time, or get in trouble for failing to disclose important facts. The list of risks goes on and on. Almost every day I talk to someone who has debt but would be in far worse shape if they did file bankruptcy, because of little technicalities that even the casual bankruptcy attorney might miss. I am a Board Certified Bankruptcy Specialist. Our firm offers board certified consumer bankruptcy services. Our practice is limited to providing debt relief to consumers.

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Our Clients Tell Us...

  • quality Excellent
    A friend of mine told me West & Hurley really knew their stuff about bankruptcy and that is why I chose them to represent me. Everyone treated me with dignity. They didn't make me feel any less of myself for filing bankruptcy. They treated me as a valued client. Whenever I had a question, the secretaries were eager to help me. I always felt satisfied and more knowledgeable in my particular situation at the end of the conversation. I think very highly of all the people at West & Hurley and would recommend their services.Diane Parthe

  • quality Excellent
    Me and my wife went though bankruptcy, it's been 6 months and we have a credit card and a 2012 bought new GMC truck. Richard West and Associates did an excellent job helping us file, and help us get our credit back on track. Our paralegal Lisa, did an excellet job helping us with our paperwork. We highly recomend filing with them, we had tried with a different firm, and they didn't help us in the same way, we are happy we had their help and expertise getting us back on track.Janie Wright

  • quality Excellent
    My wife and I filled for bankruptcy in 2008 with the help of West & Associates. Mr. West told us in our initial consultation that if we followed his advice and stuck to a plan we could rebuild our credit to a better state than it was before we filled. Though skeptical my wife and I worked hard on things like paying bills on time or early and building our credit little by little. By doing things like this and learning from past mistakes we were able to pay off our bankruptcy a year early and raised our credit score to just under 700 points. That is a 200 point difference from our score prior to getting help from West & Associates. We were also able to buy a new car 6 months after discharge with a very low interest rate. So when people tell you that filling will ruin your credit forever it just isn't true.Sherman Thatcher

  • quality Excellent
    I would like to thank the West & Hurley team for their hard work. They did an excellent job and were very professional. The staff was friendly and helpful. I will recommend West & Hurley to my friends.Christina Anglin

  • overall Excellent
    It was simply an easy process. They made absolutely sure I fully understood all of my choices. It was vital to me how they wasn't trying to sell bankruptcy since they also told me about other options like credit counseling as well as others. I felt like these people were taking care of My personal best interest...not just trying to find yet another client. I recommend them.A Google User