Important Things to Bring When Meeting With a Bankruptcy Lawyer

If you have found yourself in a bad financial situation, then you might have been doing your research about your options for making things better. While doing your research, you might have come across information about filing bankruptcy. If you’re toying around with the idea of possibly filing bankruptcy, then you might have made arrangements to meet with an attorney from a bankruptcy law firm pelham al. When going in for this initial meeting, make sure that you bring along these things. 

Your ID and Social Security Card 

Generally, you will be required to provide your bankruptcy attorney with a form of ID, such as your driver’s license or your state-issued ID. You will also need to provide your social security card. Bring these things along with you to your first meeting so that your attorney can go ahead and add them to your file, and you will have one less thing to worry about. 

Your Tax Returns 

In addition, it’s a good idea to bring along copies of your tax returns. You will generally be required to turn in the tax returns that you filed over the past couple of years. In addition to going ahead and having your tax returns added to your file, this is also a good way to show your income to your attorney. After all, your lawyer is definitely going to need to know about your income so that he or she can help with things like determining whether or not you qualify to file chapter 7 bankruptcy. 

Your Check Stubs 

Even though your lawyer will be able to get a good picture of your financial situation by taking a look at your tax returns, it’s still a good idea to bring in your most recent check stubs. After all, your income might have changed since you last filed a tax return. Your lawyer will need to know about your current income in order to help you. 

Your Bank Statements 

In addition to your tax returns and your most recent paycheck stubs, you will also need to bring along copies of your bank statements. Don’t just bring the statements from the bank account that you use the most, either. If you have multiple bank accounts, then you will need to bring along copies of statements from all of those accounts. 

A List of Your Bills and Debts 

Lastly, you will need to gather up all of your bills and information about all of your debts to bring to your meeting with a bankruptcy lawyer. This can help your lawyer get an idea of how much you have to pay out each month. It can also provide him or her with information that can be used to start putting together your bankruptcy case. 

Of course, you will probably have a chance to bring necessary documents to your lawyer later on. However, it’s not a bad idea to bring what you can with you to your initial consultation. After all, this can help you help your attorney to get your case handled as soon as possible.