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Rather than filing for bankruptcy, you could ask for debt relief from your creditors, but if you need a serious fresh start, bankruptcy may be the best path forward. It's pretty easy to file for bankruptcy if you have the right guidance, and the process often only takes four to six months.

How Does Bankruptcy Work in Alabama? In most respects, filing for bankruptcy in Alabama isn't different from filing in another state. The bankruptcy process falls under federal law, not Alabama state law, and works by unwinding the contracts between you and your creditors. That's what gives you a fresh start.

Filing bankruptcy without an attorney is called "Pro Se" - meaning to represent oneself in legal proceedings. With limited exceptions, Section 109(h) of the Bankruptcy Code requires that all individual debtors receive credit counseling from an approved provider within 180 days before the bankruptcy filing.

Persons interested in obtaining Alabama bankruptcy records may request the Bankruptcy Clerk records in the court that filed or heard the case. Interested parties may also request bankruptcy court records electronically through the Multi-Court Voice Case Information System (McVCIS).

The right to file for bankruptcy is provided by federal law, and all bankruptcy cases are handled in federal court. (see Alabama Court Directory) Filing bankruptcy immediately stops all of your creditors from seeking to collect debts from you, at least until your debts are sorted out ing to the law.

Understandably, almost all attorneys thus want to be paid up front to handle a chapter 7 bankruptcy. An informal survey of chapter 7 attorney's fees a few years ago in the Southern District of Alabama showed that fees generally ranged from $800 to $1,500, with an average of about $1,000.