November 6th, 2009 by Reed Allmand 
When debtors consider filing bankruptcy, they need to make sure that they plan carefully and work with a qualified bankruptcy attorney to make sure they are doing everything within the law.
Here’s what you should do to prepare for your bankruptcy:
- Gather all of your financial documents. That includes pay stubs, creditor bills, bank account statements and any other financial records requested by your bankruptcy attorney.
- Stop using your credit cards. A matter of fact, you need to stop using your credit cards or other credit lines as soon as you decide that you are going to attempt to discharge them in bankruptcy. If you use your credit cards right before filing bankruptcy you may not be able to discharge that debt in bankruptcy.
- Maximize your exemptions. Exemptions are assets that cannot be seized by creditors during a bankruptcy or sold by the bankruptcy trustee. Work with your bankruptcy attorney to discover your exemptions. Texas has a generous amount of exemptions for debtors who file bankruptcy and it is completely legal to protect your assets using bankruptcy exemptions as along as there is no intention to defraud creditors or manipulate the bankruptcy system. Once again, work closely with your bankruptcy attorney to make sure you’re operating within the law
About Reed Allmand
Allmand's vision is rooted in his own financially precarious childhood in Abilene "My father always had difficulty holding a job and supporting our family, so after my parents divorced when I was 12, my sister and I got jobs to help make ends meet," he recalls. "I remember what it felt like as a child to worry that our car would be repossessed or home foreclosed on."
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