Jacksonville Bankruptcy Has No Debt Requirement to File

Jacksonville, Florida debtors often ask me how much debt they must have to qualify for bankruptcy. In truth, there is no threshold requirement of debt to qualify for a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy case although Chapter 13 does have an upper limit (over a million dollars).
One of the first questions I ask when meeting with someone for the first time is why do they think they need a bankruptcy -what brought them through my door. I then ask them general questions about their income, assets, liabilities and expenses and analyze their financial situation. Sometimes bankruptcy is not the best option for people I meet with. If that’s the case, I tell them what I think and let them decide whether or not they want to file or explore another option. I think too many people (attorneys included), think that attorneys are supposed to make decisions for the client. In reality, we are only supposed to give advice. We tell you what we think and let you make the decisions.
Whether a person owes one hundred thousand or just a hundred, they can file bankruptcy. The question isn’t whether they qualify, it’s whether they should file at all. This is not a decision to be made lightly. Bankruptcy can be embarrassing and stressful. No one really wants to go bankrupt. Unfortunately, there are times when bankruptcy is the only option. For instance, Abraham Lincoln went bankrupt when his grocery store failed. I’m sure he’d have preferred some other option, but bankruptcy was the one that worked best for his situation at the time. He then went on to be one of the most recognized presidents of the United States.
When our founding fathers enumerated Bankruptcy in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, they were recognizing the need for people to have a “restart” button on their debts. They knew how living in debt inhibits personal growth and built a system under which no one would be a slave to their creditors.
If you’re considering bankruptcy, no matter how much debt you have, contact a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney or call us at (904) 685-1200 for a free consultation.