Hawaii bankruptcy attorney William C Bullard provides quality legal services to clients on all the Hawaiian islands who find themselves overwhelmed with debt. At the Bullard Law Firm bankruptcy and debt relief practice is all we do. When you trust our firm with your financial future, we appreciate your confidence and we dedicate our time and resources to get to know you and your legal needs in order to provide legal services that will give you a bright financial future. We have helped many people achieve a fresh start and financial freedom through bankruptcy and debt relief services and we would like to help you as well.

There are a number of different ways people fall upon hard financial times and you may have been the victim of circumstance, or of some poorly calculated financial risks. Whether you were injured in an accident and your medical bills are piling up or you were laid off and can't make ends meet - No matter the reason, William Bullard will skillfully negotiate through the Hawaii Bankruptcy court system and put you back in control of your life. When things get bad enough, bankruptcy is viable, and sometimes the best possible solution. Sometimes bankruptcy is not the best solution. We evaluate each client's situation and tailor a solution that best fits their individual legal needs to achieve a debt free fresh start in life.

Many people believe they may not qualify for Chapter 7 protection due to the new bankruptcy laws passed in 2005. While the new federal law made it more difficult to qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, an experienced lawyer can help you understand the means test. William Bullard understands the difficulties that you face and by helping you qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing which will eliminate most of your debts, stop foreclosure proceedings on your home, prevent repossession of your motor vehicle and help you avoid garnishment of your wages.

Alternatively, Chapter 13 may provide you with the best solution to suit your needs. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is basically a debt repayment plan that allows you to pay off your debt over a three to five year period. You may choose to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy for several reasons:

• You may have too much income to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
• You may have secured debts that you would lose by filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
• You may be significantly behind on your house payments and other secured debts.

By filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you can place your arrearage in your payment plan, which would give you up to five years to get caught up. You may have other debts such as child support that cannot be discharged by filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy. By filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy, those debts can be placed in your payment plan and paid over time. Secured debts such as home mortgages must be fully repaid when you file Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Child support and student loans must also be repaid 100 percent. But you may only have to pay pennies on the dollar for unsecured debts such as credit card bills, hospital bills, and lawsuit judgments. If we determine that your only option is to file under Chapter 13 of the bankruptcy code, we will prepare and get approval of a repayment plan from the bankruptcy court. For our Chapter 13 clients, we place our focus on creating a plan that is both realistic and manageable for the long term.

Sometimes a client's financial problems can be resolved without filing for bankruptcy. Debt workouts to relieve mortgage payment problems are achieved through negotiations for mortgage modifications. Likewise, credit card debt settlements can be negotiated to give you some breathing room to pay off your debts over a longer period of time and often for less then what may be owed to settle the account in full.

Creditors such as mortgage companies and credit card companies know that debtors in workouts classify as candidates for bankruptcy or foreclosure. If a filing from a bankruptcy attorney would occur the creditors would likely end up with little or nothing. By doing a workout they get more than they otherwise would. If workouts and settlements are a viable option, you may prefer this to filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy which remains on your credit report for 10 years. The workout option should allow you to keep a better credit score in the short run and make it easier to improve your credit score in the long run. A workout also has the advantage of resolving your debt problems faster than a Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan which lasts 3 to 5 years. This is especially useful for those whose outstanding debt in their home far exceeds the exemptions provided by the state or under the Bankruptcy Code and their other debts can be renegotiated to a manageable repayment plan.