How hard is filing bankruptcy on your own?

[stew89]

I am married but will be filing alone for chapter 7. I make about 28,000 a year and have 1 child. I rent an apartment and have no valuable assetts other than furniture and basic household goods. I have a vehicle that I am current on and want to keep it through reaffirmation. My debts are all unsecured except the vehicle, credit cards, few medical bills. An attorney near me said he would do it for 1,000 including court costs.

I checked out some online preparers and they looked good for cheap but I have read a lot of bad reviews. I saw 1clickbankruptcy.com and it doesnt do the work but says it guides you.

Also if I do do this on my own when I list the creditors what if I dont know who is handling the collections as my accounts have been passed around so much. I have some letters but the accounts are no longer with these places?

[BassBoy]

Be diligent

Filing Pre Se can be risky if you don't do your homework first. It's important that you know as much as possible.............if you don't, this is when it's best to use an attorney. Also, you could make a few appointments with some local attorneys in your area (consults are usualy free) to help educate you if you're dead set on filing Pre Se.

As for reaffirming your car......most attorneys will advise against this. Most of the lenders will allow a debtor to continue to pay the note (loan) after your discharge. This is called a Ride Through and was allowed for filers before Oct. 2005, but new law says debtors must state their intentions. Anyways, the reason for not reaffirming is if your financial situation changes and you can no longer pay the note, you can let the car be repo'd and the lender can not take action against for the unpaid balance because the debt was discharged. However, if your spouse, family member or friend is a co-signer for this note, then whomever that person is will be responsible for the deficency balance after repo.

When listing debts, list everyone who has had the account, even if the collections no longer has the account. It is better to be safe then sorry.

Hope this has helped.

[KKAB]

I just got finished completing all of my bk papers. It was honestly a lot of fun! However, I did have a few questions, which the good folks on this forum helped me with. Also, it takes a ton of time to do research and actually fill out the forms. I still have a long way to go (341, reaffirming my vehicle, etc), but so far it hasn't been too rough. It is always best to consult with an attorney or two for imperative questions.

[Stilltheone]

We filed with an attorney simply because we didn't have the time to learn what to do to file. This way, with an attorney, we're pretty sure it's getting done "right".

We also didn't have the money either to file ($1800) and had to borrow from relatives to pay the firm.

I agree with the above...if you're dead set on doing it yourself, learn about the process, educate yourself.

Good luck!

[Cassiopeia]

I really admire anyone who files pro se!

I had to file in a hurry.....I had been in a very, very bad financial situation for a long time and it was to the point where if I didn't file immediately, I could not hang on much longer. But IF I had made the decision much earlier, and had found this board and other online sites so that I could have spent much time in research and learning, I would have filed pro se.

It seems so scary, but now that I know all I know (ha ha!) it would have been a good idea.

But you MUST MUST MUST do your homework!

[HHM]

Filing a BK is fairly easy with only limited research, it is avoiding pitfalls that is the challenge for pro-se filers.

Given what you have shared so far, you shouldn't have any problem filing on your own if you are willing to do a little leg work.

In some situations, an attorney is a must, i.e. if you are a business owner, own multiple parcels of real estate, have very high debt (e.g $100K+) etc. But many run of the mill chapter 7's can be filed pro se with little difficulty.

[JRT2007]

Your situation seems to be a bit like mine. I work part-time and the only thing I really had was my car. I filed everything on my own and so far so good. I haven't had any problems. My meeting of the creditos took 10 minutes because it was a "No Asset Case."

The way I looked at it, if you have nothing to hide, then you will be find. I also tried one of the websites that help prepare your papers. I had no trouble.

[epiphany]

I just got finished completing all of my bk papers. It was honestly a lot of fun! However, I did have a few questions, which the good folks on this forum helped me with. Also, it takes a ton of time to do research and actually fill out the forms. I still have a long way to go (341, reaffirming my vehicle, etc), but so far it hasn't been too rough. It is always best to consult with an attorney or two for imperative questions.

Fun? Seriously? How so?

I've been putting this off forever but absolutely have to get it done this weekend as my last payment to lawyer will be at the end of next week.

Just curious how I could have fun with it, instead of finding it an aggravating chore. I'm not kidding or ridiculing you, I would honestly like to know the trick if there is one.

ep

[epiphany]

I really admire anyone who files pro se!

I had to file in a hurry.....I had been in a very, very bad financial situation for a long time and it was to the point where if I didn't file immediately, I could not hang on much longer. But IF I had made the decision much earlier, and had found this board and other online sites so that I could have spent much time in research and learning, I would have filed pro se.

It seems so scary, but now that I know all I know (ha ha!) it would have been a good idea.

But you MUST MUST MUST do your homework!

I also admire those who file pro se. I think I could have done it if I didn't have to work. But with work and everything else that must be done in life, I just don't feel comfortable committing to the time that it would take to make sure that everything is absolutely perfect. I take comfort in knowing I have my lawyer. Plus, being able to direct calls to him has taken a great deal of stress off me.

Many on this forum have filed pro se successfully so it can be done if you have the smarts, focus, guts and time. Won't ever know about the smarts and focus but I definitely lack the guts and time.

Good luck to you whatever you decide to do.

ep

[6ftladycop]

I filed pro se with the help of all the good folks on this forum. I was pretty much like you on all accounts, 32,000 a year, leased a vehicle, no assets, credit card debt, medical bills, personal loans but I do not own anything and I rent an apartment. Once I started reading here about everything, I went to work like I was going to college. I researched everything right down to the last detail. Yes, many here talked against filing pro se. They said that if anything goes wrong, you only have you to blame and they are right, so make sure you get it right from the beginning. Also a book called Bankruptcy for Dummies helped me a lot. There are other books out there too, but this one was funny and informative. I,m sure they have a 2008 version by now. Also, there are a lot of bankruptcy forums out there, but this one here was the best. And do this one thing before you file anything.....request a copy of your credit report from all there companies Experian, TransUnion, Equifax. The information contained in these reports was half the battle of filing on my own. Also find out where your bankruptcy court will be for your location and ask if they have a bankruptcy helpdesk. Illinois had one and they were a great help to me. Was just like having a lawyer for free.

[KKAB]

Epiphany, I have always loved paperwork type stuff! It is actually a challenge to fix the forms to look good (the fill in the blanks don't work right!). My bk is by far over, but so far I have found it to be kinda fun.... no I won't be in this situation in the future!! It takes a ton of time, but you also find out all kinds of cool laws and stuff!

[aachudneymiles]

Epiphany, I have always loved paperwork type stuff! It is actually a challenge to fix the forms to look good (the fill in the blanks don't work right!). My bk is by far over, but so far I have found it to be kinda fun.... no I won't be in this situation in the future!! It takes a ton of time, but you also find out all kinds of cool laws and stuff!

I agree, I did my husbands and mines pro se as well and it was fun. I like learning new things and challenges. I complete my chapter 7 paperwork within 2 months, had a part time job and was 7-9 months pregnant ( I actually had my baby on my last day for objections.)

[epiphany]

Epiphany, I have always loved paperwork type stuff! It is actually a challenge to fix the forms to look good (the fill in the blanks don't work right!). My bk is by far over, but so far I have found it to be kinda fun.... no I won't be in this situation in the future!! It takes a ton of time, but you also find out all kinds of cool laws and stuff!

Okay, you are officially a NUT job.

No, kidding, just kidding really, well maybe sorta not.

I gotta start it still and send it by Monday evening. Tuesday at the latest. Or maybe Wednesday or, or or, do you wanna come over to my house and have some fun? I swear I'll play nice.

ep

[MomIcantFindmy]

I filed with an attorney. (+100K in debt) I would have loved to file pro se. Stuff like that interests me so much. I did however try to educate myself as much as humanly possible. I even did the paperwork and compared it with my attorney's paperwork. I think approching my attorney with well researched questions has placed some mutual respect between us. I am an avid reader and love to find errors. Our first copy of the petition that the attorney's paralegal did looked like a red zebra....more red ink than a teenagers high school math homework. In addition to our high debt load, I stress to easy to file alone......my research would produce multiple answers to single questions.

[Cali]

We filed with an attorney because I knew he would know what to do and I wouldn't have to research everything to do it myself.

Our total cost to attorney was 2100$, not including filing fee.