POLL: Should I File My BK Pro-Se?

[StopNAF]

Lightning,

I no longer hear you or acknowledge your existence.

Goodbye

[TW in CO]

I filed pro se today - how I did it...

I shopped for a lawyer, but as we have all found out, it's just another expensive poke in the eye when you need it the least...

1) all official blank forms are readily available on the internet. They are not that complicated, less so than what the IRS puts out.

3) Almost all districs have individual websites which are reasonably helpful.

4) I got a copy of a local business journal, cut out the list of bankruptcy filings and took it down to the court and got them to pull a bankruptcy filing by somebody who had a lawyer. It was like looking at a research book in the library. I just wanted to see how the forms were filled out and used it as a guideline for my work.

5) I set up an initial "free consultation" with a bankruptcy lawyer. When he started into his canned spiel, I told him that I already did the research and what I was looking for were reasons he could have for me to hire him.

Instead of hiring him as a representative, I negotiated for him to look over all my documents for an hourly fee ($200). He said he could do it in and hour.

4) Filled out my forms with the creditors matrix and dropped them off with the $200 cash. He made a few notes on things I could improve on.

5) Made my changes and filed, feeling confident. I was especially courteous and nice to the clerk and I think he helped me out with some extra info he didn't really need to give me.

6) I plan on sitting in on a couple of 341 hearings when I know my assigned trustee will be holding court so I can get a feel for his questioning and style.

As a note - my situation is not that complicated. I really have no assets except a house which I will continue to pay on. I'm surrendering a vehicle, but I'll get another. I have no job, but I'm self-employed and get paid cash/check, so I can manuever my money and cash around to the best advantage.

Good luck, I'll keep anybody posted if they care to hear how it goes...

[Genenco]

I shopped for a lawyer, but as we have all found out, it's just another expensive poke in the eye when you need it the least...

As a note - my situation is not that complicated. I really have no assets except a house which I will continue to pay on. I'm surrendering a vehicle, but I'll get another. I have no job, but I'm self-employed and get paid cash/check, so I can manuever my money and cash around to the best advantage.

Good luck, I'll keep anybody posted if they care to hear how it goes...

Yes we would at least want that.

In regards to filing on your own..If it "Is" uncomplicated, then the way you did it, was correct. Rather intelligent to have a lawyer look it over for pointers and missed things...

But I'd not suggest it for anyone married unless theirs also is such...What with the trustees acting like Greedy Grabbers..God only knows what crap they'll pull on the Pro Se filers...

Be assured, there's probably some retirees with time on their hands who can sit in on some of the cases and take notes...In time, there may be lawsuit for "Substancial Abuse" by Trustees!!

[bkfiler]

at this point i still wouldnt file pro-se. its way to complicated. unknown processes, rules, methods and the laws have yet to be understood.

you need a 'friend' with the trustee and the court to help make this work in your favor.

my advice is still to:

- seek 3 or more free appts with attorneys. the more the better. you will learn the bk process fast during this as well. 7 or more if the case is complicated with assests you dont want to loose. im not kidding here.

- after the meeting call them back the next day on the phone with a few followup questions to see how his staff deals with you.

- then go watch them in court and at the 341 mettings to see if they are well liked and respected.

- at the 341 meeting see hows his clients are. ask them if they have had a good experience with him. you can also find attorneys this way.

- drop by the office and ask a few more questions as well. this tri-test method will let you see how your issues will be dealt with.

[Callie]

I filed Pro Se

Because lawyers were taking advantage of the rush to file under the old law and were terribly expensive. Besides, I had nothing to lose. I had no property or assets, only lots of debts due to mistakes. I bought a Nolo Press Bankruptcy book and went from there.

My only mistake was what I mentioned eariler about the money that I got from a settlement. I ended up going to the bank on the check, and getting a cashier's check. Don't want to spend anything until I see the word DISCHARGED.

[down&out]

[13inOR]

In my case I am in a chapter 13, not a 7, but I am here to tell ya that the process scared the pee out of me as it was and I cannot IMAGINE going through it without an attorney. Ours is so awesome, she told us everything we could possibly need to know, we did not have any surprises whatsoever, and we felt completely prepared. We are able to put a lot of trust in her and that has helped so much. I have her email address and whenever I have a question, she gets back to me within the day within an answer, or of course I can call as well. The cost was $3500 for the entire life of the chapter 13 and believe me its worth every single cent and then some. There are no extra charges with ours, EVERYTHING related to the bk is included that may come up, and we have had several things that she had to go to bat for us on and they turned out great. I have read some experiences from others on here
that sounded like their attorneys were pretty crappy so I can understand the temptation to go it alone, but in our case the attorneys support and advice has been priceless. I might add also that she went over our budget and upped everything to where she thought it should be yet not over where the court would allow, and there was not so much as the slightest objection to anything we asked for, which helped us immensely since we have to pay $1302 per month as it is. So, thats my opinion for the poll... : )

[quest42]

Don't forget to check Pacer!

...
4) I got a copy of a local business journal, cut out the list of bankruptcy filings and took it down to the court and got them to pull a bankruptcy filing by somebody who had a lawyer. It was like looking at a research book in the library. I just wanted to see how the forms were filled out and used it as a guideline for my work.

...

Good luck, I'll keep anybody posted if they care to hear how it goes...

TW, that was a very good piece you wrote. How'd it go?


By the way--

It's easy to get a Pacer account and look up several filings -- for free. If you stay under 120 pages of downloads, you will not generate the bill for $10.

Even if you have to pay the $0.08 per page, it is well worth it to inspect some example documents. Now that it's been over four months since the laws changed, you may be able to find some that were discharged under the new system.

If you can afford the $1,000 or more for an attorney, it may be worth the peace-of-mind, but there are many scary stories here about attorneys who did not do it right. Probably skewed, because when problems come up, people seek out this website.

I'm glad I filed pro-se, because it forced me to learn all about the system, but that was before Oct 17th, and I had time to do lots of my own research.