Filing bankruptcy isn’t something that anyone ever wants to do, but sometimes, it’s the only viable option left. Whether you’re an investor, an entrepreneur, or a stay-at-home mom, the place you want to find yourself is in insurmountable debt. However, if you do find yourself in that situation, filing bankruptcy could save you a lot of heartache and money.

As you can imagine, the bankruptcy process can be quite arduous and fraught. However, as hellish as the bankruptcy process can be, it could be the only thing standing between your most valuable assets and collectors. Continue reading to get some tips to help make going through bankruptcy a little less stressful.

Hire a bankruptcy attorney.

If you don’t spend your free time breaking down different financial terms, regulations, and concepts, it’s in your best interest to hire a bankruptcy to help you navigate the bankruptcy process. The main goal of filing bankruptcy is to protect your finances and other assets. A minor slip up in your paperwork or oversight in your filing could cause you to lose everything you’re working so hard to save.

Hiring a bankruptcy lawyer greatly increases your chances of eliminating your financial liabilities. Furthermore, a bankruptcy attorney can tell you whether or not you should even file for bankruptcy.

Another great reason to hire a lawyer is that they already have a rapport with the courts and judges, and they can leverage that in your favor. Furthermore, they can help you gather all your financial information from balance sheets to income statements and other paperwork essential financial responsibilities. Hiring a lawyer is certainly much easier and efficacious than going it alone, so be sure to hire legal counsel before filing for bankruptcy.

Be honest with your lawyer.

If you’ve ever watched a good law movie, you’ve heard a lawyer tell their client to be upfront about everything. Client attorney privilege prevents your attorney from divulging information except for plans to commit future crimes, and the more they know about your financial situation, the better services they’ll be able to provide you.

The last thing you want to do is hide important information about your finances from your lawyer. Whether it’s something you may find embarrassing like defaulted student loans, credit card debt that might embarrass you, or an asset you want to protect like shareholder equity from a mutual fund or stock market investment or even a whole life insurance policy, tell your lawyer about it.

If your lawyer finds out you’re being dishonest with them, they’re likely to stop representing you. Furthermore, if the courts find out you’re lying about your finances and your assets, it could land you in prison.

Practice saving in the months leading up to filing bankruptcy.

A person who doesn’t learn from their mistakes is highly likely to repeat them. Just because you’re filing for bankruptcy which could eliminate your debt, that doesn’t mean you should go and empty your savings account on a shopping spree.

The key to not repeating the same mistakes is to eliminate the behavior that put you in the whole in the first place. In other words, if you’re considering filing bankruptcy, now isn’t the time to rack up more debt.

Set money aside for your bankruptcy case.

As you read earlier, the bankruptcy process can take a long time to be resolved. When you consider that time is money, it only stands to reason that bankruptcy can be expensive as well. Furthermore, the readier your personal finances are for the trial ahead of you, the better. It can be hard to say how much money you’ll need for the bankruptcy process, but the key is to save a little money at a time to ensure your financial future.

Filing for bankruptcy isn’t fun and will damage your credit score for the time to come. Hiring a great lawyer who you can trust and saving are the best ways to get the tools you need for your team.