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I get it. You might be facing a foreclosure, a judgment, or having your wages garnished. The last thing you want to hear is that it is going to cost a fortune to file bankruptcy, something you don’t really want to do in the first place.

In a lot of people’s minds, if they are going to go through the pain of filing bankruptcy in Omaha, they want it done for the least amount of cost as possible. Like I said, I get it. But filing bankruptcy is a major life decision and you shouldn’t decide to do it based on the cost alone.

If you were in need of heart surgery, do you go to the cheapest surgeon? Do you buy a cheap house instead of a well-built home? There are things in life where you shouldn’t consider paying the least for and professional legal help is one of those things.

Beware of Cheap Bankruptcy Lawyers in Omaha, Nebraska

You can google Bankruptcy Lawyer in Omaha, Nebraska and get a huge list of attorneys who say they do bankruptcy. Some are experts in bankruptcy law and the others are not. Here are some tips on helping you stay away from the cheap bankruptcy lawyers in Omaha, Nebraska who lack the knowledge to help you:

• Beware of ads that state they are the cheapest bankruptcy attorney in Omaha. It usually indicates they are not an expert in the field of bankruptcy law.
• Be wary of ads that advertise fees of $299 or less. This usually indicates that they are hiding the true cost of their service. Often times only the court filing fee is advertised, but fail to include attorney fees and costs to that amount. I recently had a phone call with a woman who was appalled by my quote. She said she just talked to another “attorney” who was only charging $200! I told her that I was skeptical of the fee, especially considering the bankruptcy court filing fee alone is $306 for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.
• Stay away from “Bankruptcy Petition Preparers”. These people are not attorneys, will not represent you in court, are not permitted to give you legal advice, and generally will give you poor “advice” that could get you into a lot of trouble with the bankruptcy court, could lead to loss of your property, or could possibly have your case dismissed.
• Discount Bankruptcy Services. You can probably expect bankruptcy knowlege and customer service to be discounted as well!

How to select a quality bankruptcy lawyer in Omaha, Nebraska

Not all attorneys are bad, in fact, most are great people just wanting to help other people get out of the overwhelming load of debt that causes so much stress and unhappiness. How do you find one? Here are some tips to find a value centered bankruptcy lawyer:

• Good reviews on the internet.
• Attorneys who provide content and information about bankruptcy law on their website beyond the basics of what a bankruptcy is. This establishes what knowledge they have about the subject. Additionally, if they are giving you answers to questions and information for free, just imagine the value they could provide if you paid them!
• Attorneys who state that bankruptcy may not be the answer for you and will give you the proper options available to you. This will be based on your unique situation as no two individuals have the same type of facts to their case.
• Attorneys who state what their entire fee, including costs, are or provide a narrow range of what their fee is on their website. In my case, I generally charge a flat fee of $1,500.00 (Attorney fees, court filing fees and credit reporting costs) for an average joint Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. This usually entails that both spouses are working, have a house, multiple vehicles, other significant property, excessive debt and possibly tax debt. On the low range, I charge $1,000.00 for what I call a simple Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filing. This is usually for an individual making little income, doesn’t have a house, maybe only one vehicle, and not a lot of creditors. On the high range, I normally charge $2,000.00. This is usually for business or self-employed individuals.

Cheap Bankruptcy Lawyers are not the way to go

You can go the route of using cheap bankruptcy lawyers to file bankruptcy in Omaha, Nebraska, but I wouldn’t advise it or risk it. For just a little more, you can find a bankruptcy attorney who will treat you fairly, with respect, and take the time to educate you on your options, and if bankruptcy is right for you, how it will help you.

As the old adage goes, “You get what you pay for!”