The Role of Emotions in the Bankruptcy Process

If you’re facing a difficult financial situation in your personal life, chances are your emotions may be running high. If you have a spouse or family, you might be feeling stressed out even talking about finances with them. Or perhaps you’re having feelings of guilt regarding your situation. We’ve written previously about guilt and bankruptcy, and why there is no need for it in the bankruptcy process, and it’s not our intention to cover that in this article again; however, we do recognize that the emotional component does play into your overall view of debt and bankruptcy – and how you go about trying to make a decision regarding the best way to help your situation.

First, and most importantly, we need to acknowledge that everyone handles challenges in life differently. Some people are able to handle adversity with an almost stoic attitude. For others, they may make it intensely personal and let it control their thoughts and actions. We certainly don’t intend to suggest that one approach is better than the other, but it is important to look at the roles, both good and bad, emotions can play in handling debt and bankruptcy. Understanding yourself and how you deal with adversity can be very helpful in evaluating financial situations both at the present time and moving forward.

First of all, let’s take a look at some cases in which too many emotions can be a negative in dealing with debt, bankruptcy, or other financial challenges. When dealing with finances, it’s all about numbers. Numbers are inhuman. They can’t be empathetic or take into account an individual’s situation. Numbers are numbers and they are what they are. Sometimes, people may try to convince themselves that they can get out of debt themselves if they just work hard enough or are disciplined enough about it. Other times, people may feel defeated and simply decide on complete inaction when dealing with their finances. In both cases, it can be extremely helpful to meet with a professional bankruptcy attorney who can help you objectively look at the situation. At Burr Law Office LLC, we’ve seen thousands of cases in and around Milwaukee and we will be able to give the right advice based on our experience and our ability to evaluate the numbers. In a sense, it’s our job to look at the raw numbers so that we can help you make the decision that will best protect you and your future.

Just as your emotions surrounding debt and financial issues can sometimes muddy the waters while you try to look for the best solution, they can be a good thing too. Even while working with professional bankruptcy attorneys like those at Burr Law Office LLC, your individual emotions and insights provide invaluable information to us. We need to know what is most important to you as we work to protect your future and the future of your family. If there was a situation that you want to share with us that will help us understand your unique circumstances it will give us good insight into how we should structure things or if there are certain, specific things we can do that will be to your advantage.

Finally, it can’t be stressed enough that it’s OK and normal for emotions to run high during difficult financial times. After all, even though money itself is inhuman, it affects so many things in our lives from where we live, how we live, how we provide for our families, and so much more. It is inevitable that these issues will tug at our emotions and cause stress. The biggest thing to remember, though, is to use emotional responses appropriately and not let them interfere with what’s ultimately in your best interest.

At Burr Law, we want to work with you to get you the best results possible for you, your future, and the future of your family. As experienced professionals, we will help you use the emotions surrounding your bankruptcy to your best advantage when appropriate and also help you focus on the objective data and raw numbers when that is appropriate. In all things, we work for you as your advocates, and with our talented and experienced team, we can provide you unparalleled insight.

So, if you are going through a financially difficult time and need to talk to seriously about your best options, please don’t hesitate to give us a call. You can always be sure we’ll give you the sound financial advice that you need.