I've got a lot of experiece dealing with Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases. In 99.99999% of those cases, the bankrupt person doesn't lose ANY of their property, aside from items that are collateral for loans (such as cars). Even so, most banks don't want to repossess cars and will allow new arrangements to be made to allow the debtor to keep the vehicle and continue making payments.
Any lawyer that lets the "average" person file for bankruptcy and lose her personal property is a moron, plain and simple. Even the least-skilled bankruptcy attorneys know how to use the exemptions provided by federal law to protect such property.
If she's afraid of bankruptcy because she doesn't want to lose stuff, she shouldn't be.
I'm not an advocate of bankruptcy: people should pay their bills, but sometimes things happen that get them over theirs heads (such as catastrophic illnesses, divorce, job losses). The idiots in our society that run up their credit card bills knowing they can't afford them are shockingly careless and irresponsible.
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