No matter a person's background or race, financial woes can haunt everyone at some point during their life. But when people in Ohio and across the United States turn to professionals for help, is there bias in the type of help they offer? That is what a recent study suggests, pointing out the importance of choosing an experienced bankruptcy attorney who supports his or her clients' best interests.

A recent study used bankruptcy filing data and a lawyer questionnaire to get information about filings when it came to race. The questionnaire sent out to lawyers asked questions about two fictional couples that had virtually the same financial situation but had names that were more typical for a certain race. The study was adjusted for income, homeownership, assets and education, and found that black people are about twice as likely to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy as their white counterparts. The study shows that this is due to the direction of their lawyers, consciously or unconsciously.

The process, which tends to be more time-consuming and expensive than Chapter 7 bankruptcy, may end up leaving individuals in a tougher situation in the long run if they are not able to keep up with payments. According to a news article, though the payment plans seem to work at first with filers making budget cuts at home in order to keep up with payments, the strategy doesn't always hold strong for bankruptcy filers in the long term.

On the other hand, some say the study doesn't take into consideration the complexity of choosing a chapter to file. They say there are many things that have to be taken into account during this process. Also, some bankruptcy professionals say that those people who tend to have fewer assets are often not able to pay the full upfront Chapter 7 attorneys' fees. In that case, Chapter 13 becomes a more viable option because they can pay those fees over time.

Either way, bankruptcy professionals say the study, which supports other smaller studies, is something that needs to be taken into consideration.

Source: New York Times, "Blacks Face Bias in Bankruptcy, Study Suggests," Tara Siegel Bernard, Jan. 20, 2012