When owners usually reach out
The situations look similar from our side: a line of credit has been called, a judgment is about to become a levy, payroll is competing with a tax bill, or a landlord has started the process to take back the space. Some owners want to keep operating and need room to reorganize. Others have already decided to close and want the wind-down handled cleanly so personal exposure does not follow them afterward. Which of those two you are in changes almost everything that comes next, so it is the first thing we ask.
What to have on hand
Bring the last two years of tax returns, recent profit-and-loss and balance sheets, and a current list of what the business owes and to whom. Add any personal guarantees you signed, the lease, and any demand letters, lawsuits, or notices you have received. If money has moved between the business and you or family members in the past year, note those transfers too. An incomplete picture is the most common reason a plan has to be redone later, and the transfers are the item owners most often forget.
What the first conversation covers
We look at whether the business can realistically carry a restructured payment, what a lender is likely to do if nothing changes, and where personal liability sits. Federal law offers more than one path, and some matters are resolved outside of court entirely through negotiation with the main creditors. You will leave the first conversation knowing which paths are actually open in your situation and what each would ask of you. If a filing is not the right answer, we will say so.
