Joel Michael Grafstein

When I called for a consultation with Attorney Grafstein in the fall of 2014, I was in extremis. Debt was swallowing me whole, and I had exhausted all options (applications for personal and debt consolidation loans, debt counseling, 3rd party settlement which I was cautioned against, negotiatio...ns with individual banks for repayment terms.) I even succumbed to receiving a tribal web loan to pay my past-due vehicle taxes and renew my registration, thinking I could repay the $400. principal in a couple of months with my tax refund, not understanding that the diabolical interest was calculated up front. As I fell behind in my payments, even though I contacted each creditor every month, the late fees piled up and the APR’s increased. No matter how much I reined -in, no matter how I tried to “do the math”, the numbers were humanly impossible. Then, a dear friend referred me to Joel Grafstein, whom she’d consulted when her house was in foreclosure. She said he was “calming”, and I needed calming: unable to sleep, unable to breathe. When I met with him, he was indeed calming, and after I disclosed my situation, he suggested that petitioning for bankruptcy was not just the best but my only option. He assured me that the laws had changed, that I wasn’t permanently destroying my future credit, and mostly that it need not be a shame-based decision. Having grown up with a strong work ethic, I needed to know that that bankruptcy would not brand me a deadbeat. It proved to be a daunting process for me. But especially once the wonderful Lynne Morgan, Paralegal, was assigned my case, I had all my questions promptly answered. I was shepherded through the process and the course requirements, and encouraged throughout. It probably took months longer than for most clients, but the delays were entirely mine; it was difficult to report finite numbers for budgeting and expenses, as my income was variable, and for more than a year I’d been “robbing Peter to pay Paul”, often going without. (When I lost my job, there was no income to report and so the numbers were less complicated.)Finally Attorney Grafstein was able to file my bankruptcy petition. I was not a little nervous about the bankruptcy hearing last March, but Attorney Grafstein’s presence in court was both bracing and a comfort to me. I do not have adequate words to express my gratitude toward Attorney Grafstein and his firm, especially the kind and competent Lynne Morgan. Attorney Grafstein’s wise counsel, and yes, his calming effect as I navigated foreign territory, enabled me finally to get my head above water. And breathe again. Bankruptcy was for me, literally, financial rescue, and I would heartily recommend the services of Grafstein & Arcaro to anybody.