Do you feel like your business is in distress financially, especially with everything going on with mandatory shutdowns? You may be looking for a way to get financial relief from your situation when you can't pay your bills. Here are some things to know about using bankruptcy to help you manage your debts.
How Do You Know If Bankruptcy Is the Right Path?
If you have difficulty paying bills and are now in over your head, bankruptcy is always going to be an option. However, it is quite a hard decision to make all on your own. You can always reach out to a lawyer for a consultation about what you should do since they can look at your debts and determine if bankruptcy may be the right path. If they feel that you could benefit from using bankruptcy and still keep the business open, they will help guide you through the process of eliminating debt. There is not typically a fee to receive a consultation from a lawyer about a bankruptcy case, and it can do wonders by just easing your anxiety about what your options are.
Can the Business Just Go Under Without Using Bankruptcy?
When you start a business and it has its own taxpayer ID, you may just assume that the business is its own entity and not tied to you in any way. However, your name is still tied to many of the debts that your business has taken on. You've signed contracts with vendors, received loans from the bank, signed leases for the property, and in general have an association with those debts. This means that you are personally responsible for those debts being paid back, even if the liability falls with the business.
This means that you have the responsibility to go through the process and make sure that those debts are discharged if possible. This will help completely clear the company of any owed debts, as well as give you a clear conscience that you went about taking care of your debts in a legal manner. Bankruptcy also gives you protection against creditors harassing you for money that you are owed. Even if the business is the one that is liable instead of you as an individual, bankruptcy can prevent you from being contacted by creditors about those debts.
Reach out to a bankruptcy attorney in your area for more information about what to do with your struggling business.
