Usually, the answer is yes but it may depend on the type of case you have. If your case is a small dollar value case, then you can probably get by on your own without having to use a lawyer. However, even with a small dollar value case, it may still be good to visit with a lawyer.

Referring to a small case is not meant to diminish the importance because all cases are important to the people injured. However, our legal system cannot restore your health. All it can do is require the party at fault to pay you some money in return for your damages. So small means what you should be able to realistically expect to receive in payment for your injuries.

Some items often used to determine if your case might be considered a small case include the following: (1) if your vehicle was only lightly damaged, like a bumper dent, (2) the medical treatment was for a soft tissue injury and was done in a relatively short time such as 2-3 months, (3) the medical bills were not more than $3,000 to $5,000, and (4) your injuries were not permanent.

Typical cases that might qualify as small cases are typically rear-end collisions where there is only damage to the rear bumper that is less than $1,000.00; where the injured person only saw a chiropractor and was diagnosed as having a soft tissue injury and recovered fairly quickly with no long-term permanent effects. These are the type of cases that people often settle for themselves.

If you have a small case, and your bills are more than $3,000 to $5,000, you will first want to finish your treatment and get released from your doctor. Frequently doctors, such as chiropractors, will tell you that you have reached maximum medical improvement, or MMI. At this point, they will release you from treatment and tell you to come back if you have any problems. Once you are released, you will want to collect the bills and records from all medical providers who have treated you for your injury. If you were initially transported by ambulance and were treated in the ER of the hospital, you will want to collect these records as well.

After you have collected your medical records, you should write a letter to the insurance company stating your your demand or request for settlement. In your letter, you should ask to be reimbursed for your medical bills (and future medical bills if applicable) as well as the pain and suffering you went through and/or expect to go through in the future. You can present your own offer or ask them to make you an offer. The insurance company will then contact you and give you their offer. In most cases, their offer will be less than what you were hoping for. You are always free to make a counter offer and to negotiate with them.

The insurance company could offer to settle your case for the cost of medical bills plus $500 to $1,000 for your pain and suffering. They might offer you more or less. But this is probably in the range of what you might see if you negotiate with them directly for this kind of small case. If you are negotiating a larger case, you should expect more than this. Some law firms offer a free service where they will review the offer from the insurance company, compare it against your records, and let you know whether the insurance company is making a fair offer or not.

Even when attorneys charge there their typical 1/3 contingency fee, it is usually better to use one in larger cases. A study that was done in 1999 by the Insurance Research Counsel, found that people who used a lawyer for their personal injury claim received on average 3 1/2 times more compensation than those persons who settled their own cases.

If your case is a larger dollar amount case, you can ask the attorney whether they will make certain that you receive at least as much as offered by the insurance company. Our practice is to insure our clients get at least as much as offered by the insurance company before our involvement or we will cut our fee to make that happen. This means the client will end up with more money in their pocket than if they had done it alone. This is a good thing to ask the attorney you are thinking of using.

It is common to find lots of people trying to speak for themselves during a bankruptcy hearing, as opposed to having a bankruptcy lawyer represent them. Harmless as this mistake seems, many make it, and have severe bruises to show for it. Average people do not have the expertise and technical knowhow to navigate the waters of bankruptcy law that bankruptcy lawyers have, particularly recent changes in the law as regards the topic. Mistakes made merely in paperwork can cause one’s case to be thrown out. The likelihood of this is greatly reduced by hiring a bankruptcy lawyer.

Bankruptcy always has people struggling within before they file the case. Attempting and constantly failing to pay off bills might in fact be the only thing that would force most people to file bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy might be the final decision you would make in the face of constantly failed attempts at other solutions. The next issue then will be getting yourself a bankruptcy lawyer.

The choice of bankruptcy lawyer to use is easy for some. Friends or family with previous experiences might have a thing or two to say about how to find the right bankruptcy lawyer. Having worked sensitively with your family member, you might consider a particular bankruptcy lawyer good enough to work with.

Some good bankruptcy lawyers are also listed in the yellow pages. Listed under ‘attorneys’, you will find bankruptcy lawyers.

Some pointers are important to keep in mind when choosing a bankruptcy lawyer.

Your lawyer should not have too much on their plate to attend to your matter. Schedule an appointment with the bankruptcy lawyer to begin with. Push to meet the bankruptcy lawyer within a couple of days.

On meeting the bankruptcy lawyer, don’t be too reserved to ask questions. Try to learn if there is anything peculiar about your case and what amount it is that you will be required to pay for the services of the bankruptcy lawyer.

A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is designed to give you a fresh start by discharging your debts. But some property that is not exempt may be sold in order to pay off creditors.

One of the main points to consider in deciding whether to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is what property you can keep and what property you may have to give up.

In the state of Tennessee a person is entitled to exempt up to $5,000 of the value of their home. If a married couple file a Chapter 7, then they can exempt up to $7,500 of the value if their home.

Tennessee law exempts up to $12,500 of the value of a home if the individual filing bankruptcy is 62 years of age or older. If a married couple files a Chapter 7 and one spouse is 62 years of age or older and the other spouse is under 62 years old Tennessee laws provides for up to a $20,000 exemption. If both spouses are 62 or older the exemption rises to $25,000.

Tennessee law grants a $25,000 homestead exemption for an individual filing a Chapter 7 who has at least one dependent child. This exemption doubles to $50,000 when a married couple with at least one dependent child files a Chapter 7.

The amount of equity in your house is important to know when considering Chapter 7. If your exempted amount is more than your equity then there is no chance a Chapter 7 Trustee will seek to sell your house to pay creditors.

If the equity in your house is more than the amount you are entitled to exempt then you will have to pay the difference between the equity minus the exemption, or you will risk losing your house when you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

If you are behind on your house payment then Chapter 7 might not be the best option. A Chapter 13 repayment plan would ensure you retain possession of your home.