This past weekend my wife went white water rafting on the Ocoee River in Eastern Tennessee. She tells me that the river was dotted with rafts full of people. Some of the rafts were attacking the white water, the riders paddling hard and in unison. Others floated through a calm stretch of the river, the rafters enjoying a brief respite before the return of the boulders and the rushing waters. Still others were staying in place, examining the river ahead, deciding which course to take.
Every one of these rafts had a guide; not only a guide who knew white water rafting, but one who knew how to raft the Ocoee.
These guides know the trouble spots of the river. They know where the rafters need to gain speed, where they need to slow down, where they can take breaks. They know how heavy rainfall affects the flow of the river, and how going over a boulder will affect the trip instead of going around it.
In much the same way, you need an experienced, knowledgeable guide to help you navigate your bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is not easy. It’s complex and ever-changing. Our current version of bankruptcy law is just a few years old, and courts are interpreting and reinterpreting it almost daily. To practice bankruptcy takes a keen mind and a dedication to study and staying current.
You may have a friend that is a great criminal defense attorney, or you may know someone who worked with the absolute best divorce attorney in Tennessee. By all means, use them for those areas of law. But If I am going white water rafting on the Ocoee, I want a guide that knows how to raft the Ocoee: no other rivers matter to me then. In the same way, if you need the services of a bankruptcy attorney, go with someone that knows, and I mean knows, bankruptcy.
Avoid the attorney that “dabbles” in bankruptcy – this is the attorney that practices in 15 areas of law, including bankruptcy. You look at their website, or you see their advertisement in the yellow pages, and this person does everything under the sun. You might want to find out more about their abilities before you retain them. Because bankruptcy is so specialized, you need an attorney who spends a significant portion of their time in this area. If the attorney you choose is a “dabbler,” you could have a horrible bankruptcy experience, lose assets, owe on debts you thought were dischargeable, and not get the relief that you sought.
When you have a seasoned bankruptcy attorney to guide you through the process, your filing and experience can be rather uneventful, perhaps pleasant, or maybe even exhilarating. Bankruptcy is not the end of your financial journey, but one leg of it. Choose your guide wisely.
Every one of these rafts had a guide; not only a guide who knew white water rafting, but one who knew how to raft the Ocoee.
These guides know the trouble spots of the river. They know where the rafters need to gain speed, where they need to slow down, where they can take breaks. They know how heavy rainfall affects the flow of the river, and how going over a boulder will affect the trip instead of going around it.
In much the same way, you need an experienced, knowledgeable guide to help you navigate your bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is not easy. It’s complex and ever-changing. Our current version of bankruptcy law is just a few years old, and courts are interpreting and reinterpreting it almost daily. To practice bankruptcy takes a keen mind and a dedication to study and staying current.
You may have a friend that is a great criminal defense attorney, or you may know someone who worked with the absolute best divorce attorney in Tennessee. By all means, use them for those areas of law. But If I am going white water rafting on the Ocoee, I want a guide that knows how to raft the Ocoee: no other rivers matter to me then. In the same way, if you need the services of a bankruptcy attorney, go with someone that knows, and I mean knows, bankruptcy.
Avoid the attorney that “dabbles” in bankruptcy – this is the attorney that practices in 15 areas of law, including bankruptcy. You look at their website, or you see their advertisement in the yellow pages, and this person does everything under the sun. You might want to find out more about their abilities before you retain them. Because bankruptcy is so specialized, you need an attorney who spends a significant portion of their time in this area. If the attorney you choose is a “dabbler,” you could have a horrible bankruptcy experience, lose assets, owe on debts you thought were dischargeable, and not get the relief that you sought.
When you have a seasoned bankruptcy attorney to guide you through the process, your filing and experience can be rather uneventful, perhaps pleasant, or maybe even exhilarating. Bankruptcy is not the end of your financial journey, but one leg of it. Choose your guide wisely.
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