Our Services
We provide general consumer and small business Bankruptcy Services and legal representation, for Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcies. We have adopted a number of policies in our office, which we feel make us unique among bankruptcy attorneys. First, we are very flexible about payment plans. We do demand a little earnest money when you retain us ($200.00), after that, we will work out a payment schedule which will work for you. It really does not matter to us if it takes one week, one month or one year for you to make payments. We have been in Lowell, MA for almost 25 years and have no plans to leave any time soon.
Second, we will hold your creditors at bay while you make payments. If you have not done so already, you will stop making your regular credit card payments once you make the decision to file Bankruptcy. Your creditors will call you. All you need do is give the debt collectors our name and number, and tell them that Attorney Haskell said that you cannot discuss this matter with them. They will call us to verify. After that, they will generally back off for a few months, as they know that to continue to harass you will be a waste of their time.
Third, we offer some of the lowest fees among experienced Bankruptcy attorneys. Attorney Haskell has over 20 years experience, and has assisted literally thousands of clients through the bankruptcy process. We do not "dabble" in Bankruptcy. This is a core practice for us. While it may be possible to find a lawyer who charges less somewhere, you will not find one with our experience, competence and professionalism. Since the passage of the "Bankruptcy Reform" six years ago, the Bankruptcy Court is a dangerous place for "dabblers" and their clients.
Fourth, we offer regular evening and some weekend appointments. We understand that times are tough, and you cannot be skipping work to meet with your lawyer. While we are certainly available during normal business hours, we are available other times as well.
Fifth, we are up front about our fees. When we say that a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is $1,750.00, it means that it will cost you $1,750.00 to file Chapter 7. That price includes paperwork, representation at the hearing, filing fees, credit counseling fees, debtor education fees, credit report importing, postage, copying, parking, and any other fee that is necessary for the filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. It is the policy of this office never to advertise non-existent fees starting at ? and then add a series of charges that double or even triple the advertised fee. We believe that is a cruel thing to do a person with financial difficulties.
Sixth, we do not waste your time. First of all, if there is a problem, which may make it difficult or impossible to file bankruptcy successfully, we will tell you immediately. What is more, we will boil the process down to its essential parts. We have prepared thousands of petitions. We know what the trustees and the courts care about, and what they do not care about. We will not make you spend hours researching minor aspects of financial history which no one will ever want to know about, even if it appears in some checklist list in a "how to guide to bankruptcy". We will have you give us the essential facts for the preparation of your petition and the representation at your hearing, no more and no less.
Seventh, we will not try to scare you. To an experienced bankruptcy practitioner, there is nothing complicated about the bankruptcy process. For the client of an experienced bankruptcy practitioner, there is nothing complicated about the bankruptcy process. We understand that it is a common practice to try to make bankruptcy seem more difficult, and frankly scarier, than it actually is. This helps to justify a fee. We believe that our fees are justified by the value of the service that we provide to our client, and does not require any further justification. As a result, it is our practice from the very first meeting to try to make the client feel more relaxed and comfortable with the bankruptcy process. If you are forthright and honest in your dealings with us and in your dealings with the Bankruptcy Court, and you give us all of the information that we ask for, we will walk you through this process simply and efficiently, we will handle the rest.
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