Pro Se in NJ (no pun intended)

[kornellred]

I have a 26 year old son who has $80K in unsecured debt. He has been sued by all of the creditors and all of them have, of course, been granted default judgments.

My son has no job, no money, no bank accounts, and lives at home with his mother. This means that he also has no expenses except for liability insurance on the old clunker that he cannot afford to put gas into.

All of the attorneys he has spoken with want approximately $2000, give or take a few hundred, to file a no-asset Chapter 7 petition. This is an absolutely airtight, clear-cut, unambiguous situation where the filing could not possibly be denied. It seems absurd to have to pay that much money to have an attorney fill out paperwork, which is all it would amount to. Of course, many confusing roadblocks have been put up to discourage pro se filing of bankruptcy petitions. Yet I hear that it can actually be done (the US Constitution ostensibly guarantees that).

Where can guidance be found as to the bottom-line requirements of pro se filing, especially In New Jersey? There are specifics with respect to items as trivial as the font type, margin settings and spacing used on the forms and schedules that are submitted. Does a request for waiver of the filing fee have to be submitted and approved prior to filing?

Niggling little technicalities such as this are seemingly designed to discourage the attempt to file pro se.

Any help at all out there?

WR

[music12]

buy the nolo book on ch7 filing. there's a sticky on it.

more importantly, unless your son is disabled somehow (in which case he should be getting some kind of disability insurance I would think), time to push him into the real world.

[AngelinaCatHub]

buy the nolo book on ch7 filing. there's a sticky on it.

more importantly, unless your son is disabled somehow (in which case he should be getting some kind of disability insurance I would think), time to push him into the real world.

You sure read my mind. 26, at home with MOM? What's wrong with this picture? C7 book is wonderful, it has all the forms in it. Pacer can give local protocol about the local forms but for the most part those would be Motions, and such. 'Hub

[jribe]

i think it's tough love time for your son honestly. Why doesn't he have a job? And how did he get 80k in debt with no job? (recently lost it?). I would make sure he finds a job before he files. Obviously the judgements mean nothing if he has no income.

My point is that- he can't live with mom or dad forever, he needs to be able to take care of himself. Sure, the BK will wipe away the debt; but will that fix his problem? Likely answer is no.

I have a 26 year old son who has $80K in unsecured debt. He has been sued by all of the creditors and all of them have, of course, been granted default judgments.

My son has no job, no money, no bank accounts, and lives at home with his mother. This means that he also has no expenses except for liability insurance on the old clunker that he cannot afford to put gas into.

All of the attorneys he has spoken with want approximately $2000, give or take a few hundred, to file a no-asset Chapter 7 petition. This is an absolutely airtight, clear-cut, unambiguous situation where the filing could not possibly be denied. It seems absurd to have to pay that much money to have an attorney fill out paperwork, which is all it would amount to. Of course, many confusing roadblocks have been put up to discourage pro se filing of bankruptcy petitions. Yet I hear that it can actually be done (the US Constitution ostensibly guarantees that).

Where can guidance be found as to the bottom-line requirements of pro se filing, especially In New Jersey? There are specifics with respect to items as trivial as the font type, margin settings and spacing used on the forms and schedules that are submitted. Does a request for waiver of the filing fee have to be submitted and approved prior to filing?

Niggling little technicalities such as this are seemingly designed to discourage the attempt to file pro se.

Any help at all out there?

WR

[keepmine]

This site has a pro se forum.

[bankruptsee]

How does one with no job get credit to rack up 80k in debt?

[Amy26]

I don't really think its appropriate to tell someone else how to raise their children when they are asking a bankruptcy question. We are in no position to judge their lives or even know any background details as to why things are the way they are for them.

We are here to help people through bankruptcy and answer questions not pass judgement on their personal lives.

[music12]

amy, you are right that no one should pass judgment, but i don't think people were doing that in this case. being able to get back on one's own feet after bk IS a bk issue. and this case is a prime example where it is practically impossible to separate someone's bk from the rest of their lives.

[Amy26]

No you're just telling her how to deal with her own personal situation with her child. When she didn't even ask. I think the only reason it was mentioned was to fill in the info for her bankruptcy question. Or the OP could be the father, by the statement "he still lives at home with his mother." Not sure if the OP is the mom or the dad.

[justbroke]

We are here to help people through bankruptcy and answer questions not pass judgement on their personal lives.

I'm not jumping into this thread and have only been following it. Well, I guess I'm jumping in now.

This Forum is also to point out to people where they went wrong, or where they will still have issues. While I don't advocate a personal attack, which none of the foregoing posts were, I can deal with others giving constructive advice.

However, I'll go further, and say that... just saying "kick him out" is not constructive advice.

[Amy26]

Well I never said they were "attacking" the OP I just don't agree with jumping on someone about their family situation or how to raise their children. Its a fine line I guess. If someone actually said I'm having issues with my son still being in the house and he's filing for bk please give me advice then that's different, at least to me. I dunno just the info was given to ask a specific question about pro se filing not to get a lecture on proper parenting.

[blankslate]

I won't give parental advice, but I'll give some pro se advice

Yes, NOLO book is the bible of pro se bankruptcy so follow the stickies and purchase that. Sometimes there are coupons for it too.

Look up your district website and they should have all of the forms in .pdf with a cover sheet and fonts and margins already programmed in.

You file the motion for fee waiver at the same time that you file the petition and it is usually ruled on within 3 days. If for some reason the judge does not allow a full waiver, they may allow a partial waiver of fees and an installment to pay them off. You will want to pay them in full before the 341.

Good luck with your son. Sometimes it's more than just a lack of ambition and can actually be a sign of serious depression.

Come on over to the pro se section and it will be easier for us to spot your questions and give you answers.

[justbroke]

I dunno just the info was given to ask a specific question about pro se filing not to get a lecture on proper parenting.

No, you're right. However, I didn't make any postings to this thread because I would have nothing constructive, but to ask a bunch of questions about why that situation existed. So... we agree.

These threads seem to always drift, but I see blankslate is getting it back on track!

[blankslate]

No, you're right. However, I didn't make any postings to this thread because I would have nothing constructive, but to ask a bunch of questions about why that situation existed. So... we agree.

These threads seem to always drift, but I see blankslate is getting it back on track!

Heh, I just wanted to make sure he got his answer before he gave up sifting through the opinions.

To the OP: Since your son has no job and nothing to garnish, there is no rush to getting the paperwork done. Please take your time and make sure you have EVERYTHING needed to file rather than just the bare bones emergency petition. It will make everything go much more smoothly. Also keep in mind there is the pre-filing counseling certificate that must be filed. There is another sticky on here for online courses that can be taken and I think they can be done for as little as $15.

On the parenting an adult child thing, once again I'm Switzerland. I'm the youngest and have been on my own the longest and a single parent for my entire adult life but I've always worked two jobs and did what I had to do. Two of my brothers are the most unmotivated jerks who expect a free ride at all times and they are well into their 40's. They were handed everything from our parents including their university educations while I had to struggle on my own. However now one of them is trying to turn it around now that he has a wife and two small children but given the current economy and job situation it seems too little too late. Unfortunately now even the most motivated of people are finding themselves sleeping on someone's couch with no income while they try to find a job. We have a guy here in LA who puts on a full suit every morning and hangs a banner on the over pass advertising himself as an MBA who needs work.

[kornellred]

A word to all the respondents who had something to say about my son's life situation: he has had behavioral problems since early childhood. He has ADHD, OCD, and a mild form of Tourette's Syndrome. He is good looking and has had a long succession of girlfriends who invariably leave him when they discover that they are unable to manipulate him or get him to change his behavior. He has a police record which prevents him from getting any kind of decent employment that offers a future. Most of the jobs that he has had are menial, hard labor jobs that do not pay very well and where co-workers tend to be confrontational - a situation he cannot tolerate. The combination of low pay, hard work and having to deal with low-IQ people gives him very little incentive to abide in that fashion. He once asked me if I knew of a way to stop the noise in his brain without firing a bullet into it. We often laugh together and we both admit that despite the fact that life has not been exactly kind to either of us (or his mother and our other children) it is far too interesting to let go of just yet. He has tried medication, but is completely unable to tolerate anything that is available - he becomes ill or turns into a zombie. He does not smoke, drink, or use illegal drugs of any kind.

How did an unemployed 26 year old get 80K in debt? Mostly due to a complicated series of automobile acquisitions that finally got him behind the wheel of a very fast, very beautiful sports car worth about $50k, which he should never have been able to get his hands on but did anyway. When it finally got repossessed it was practically worthless, so the title holders could not get very much for it.

Anyhow - I can understand they way most people would feel about this very difficult life situation. I did not know that there is a pro se forum available here. But now I do, and got some great advice to boot!

By the way - I myself am in Chapter 13. This is my second bankruptcy - a situation which was basically a "fate accompli" (unsure of the spelling - it's a French term for a done deal) long, long before it came to fruition. Make of that what you will.