Thinking of filing on my own, beginner questions

[bagel]

I've been thinking about filing ch. 7 on my own without an attorney. I had a consultation with an attorney a few months ago and he said that because 100% my debt is from unsecured credit cards and I have no assets that I should be able to file on my own with no problem. He said it was as simple as going to a website to see all the credit cards i owe money for and listing them on the bankruptcy form? My questions for you all are 1. Is it really going to be as easy as the attorney made it sound? 2. What website is he talking about that will list my debts? and 3. What is the name of the form and where do I get it?



One more thing that I feel like may complicate my case. I got a DUI about 4 years ago and my dad hired an attorney for me. I guess because my dad hired him, they are going after my dad for payment, but we want that transferred over to me so I can get that debt discharged in my bankruptcy. Does anyone have any ideas about how that will work or if it's even possible?

I would appreciate any help here, I know this forum is full of useful knowledge but it is a little difficult mining through all the posts for information that is relevant to me.

[ValleYum]

You need to make appointments with several local BK attorneys for "free consults". That info is invaluable.

I am NOT being mean so hear me in a sweet, Southern, female Jeff Foxworthy way: If you don't know how to find out who your creditors are (free annual credit report), find bankruptcy forms (http://www.uscourts.gov/FormsAndFees...ptcyForms.aspx) or how to 'mine' a forum for relevant data (use the advanced search function along with key words), you don't need to file your own bankruptcy.

The question about the DUI attorney is interesting - that would be one of the first things I would find out from an experienced local attorney - BUT it is my first thought (and these are often wrong) that your DAD is contractually liable to the attorney and your trying to take over said contractual liability THEN "stick it to" (my words) the attorney in YOUR bankruptcy would not be the time for you to be a fool (from the quote that says “He who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client".) Consider this 'Tough Love'. Really.

You will find TONS of info here both in the Pro Se and Chapter 7 sub-sections of this forum - you just have to be willing to do the work to find it. Read some stickies, do some CURRENT research (noticed after I had posted all of this that you started asking about BK in 2009!!!) and ask questions relevant to your BK (other than the DUI one). You just might find some good answers and support here.

PS: My first question here was "Who administers the Means Test and where do I go to take it?"

PPS: If you had saved $50 per month/$12.50 per week/$1.65 day since your first post here and then filed - your bankruptcy would have been long filed and done by an attorney - 2 years ago!

[tobee43]

valle- i really liked that voice you did that SO well!!

now, here's my take on this. your father signed a contract for you defense with this atty, so this could be sticky. if would attempt to list it, worse scenario, would be the atty would fight it, best the amount would be discharged. the atty most likely will claim that the debt is your fathers and he signed the contract. law is all about contacts and the problem with listing the debt is it could trigger an AP (adversary proceeding), which you would have to hire an atty anyway to do that one for you. in the long run could cause you more problems that you expected.

the other way to look at this is if you are able to get rid of all your other debt it would leave you with open cash to maybe pay back your dad for his help.

valle points out an excellent point, you hire an atty and can do this financially. i would never go it alone and i have a background in law. no way, it's like putting a shield in front of you and of course i could have filled out all the forms, i actually did, what i couldn't do is have the relationship with the courts the firm i hired had. nor, could i speak with the trustee on a one to one, although i did work with the trustees paralegal on our case, which i found extremely unusual, i think it that was all based on the relationship the firm had with the district trustees and to expedite cases through the system. i realize now that the problems in my case would have "normally" been brought up at the 341 and questioned then only, most likely, delaying my bk process, had i gone it alone that exchange between the trustte's office and myself prior to the 341 would have never happened.

the us bk codes are numerous and vast. it takes one that really knows the in and outs of both the codes, current state law and the courts to guide you. i'm not saying or trying to imply you are not capable, however, that being said, there are numerous people on this site that have gone it alone and have done excellent jobs. one of our mods jb did and successfully filed a 13, an unheard of feat indeed! again, it's up to you, but remember that saying; penny wise dollar foolish.

[LadyInTheRed]

If dad has a binding contract to pay the attorney, your BK won't change that. You should still list the attorney as a creditor to make sure he can't collect from you. That won't keep you from paying the debt if you want.

I agree with ValleYum. If you can't find the answers to your questions, you should not file pro se.

[bagel]

I thank you all for your advice. One thing that confuses me is that I owe $8000 to the law firm that defended me in my DUI case (they sent me a letter 2 months ago asking for payment), yet I don't see that listed on my credit report.

[TXskyblue]

Just because it's not listed on your credit report doesn't mean you don't owe it.

If your dad signed his name to something saying he would pay for your lawyer, there's no way the lawyer is just going to let him off the hook.

A ch 7 BK attorney costs about 2K, give or take, in most areas. You can do it pro se but that's a lot of work and a lot of stress, plus you lose out on the ability of a lawyer to run interference for you and to give you advice based on his experience in your specific district with your specific trustee and your specific judge.

If you stop paying your credit cards, you might be able to save enough money to pay the lawyer. I'd go for a free consultation with a BK attorney before making any decisions, though.

[df04527]

There are many debts people owe that are not reported on your credit report such as attorney debts. The main reason for that is cost. It cost the lender money to report to a bureau, let alone multiple bureaus. Sometimes they do have a policy though only reporting the account when it is defaulted.

[bagel]

I guess I could just call them and ask if it is in my name or my dads?

[keepmine]

I guess I could just call them and ask if it is in my name or my dads?

You should include anyone who could conceivably have a claim. No need to call anyone-just schedule the debt.
If your father signed the retainer agreement, he's on the hook. If he didn't, he has no responsibility. If the lawfirm is dunning your father, he's the one who needs to insist on seeing the retainer agreement-though I suspect you 2 already know the answer to that question.

[bagel]

It's not that I'm going against the advice of hiring an attorney, I would if I could, but I make minimum wage. It's just not a possibility.

Found out the DUI is my debt. I've printed out all the forms and I will be starting the process next week. Fingers crossed!

[dina13]

Get yourself "Nolo Chapter 7 Bankruptcy" book. It will give you info on everything you need to know, and make the process clear to you. When we were considering filing, I got Nolo, and read it in about two days. After that I felt that I understand the whole process and logic behind it.

[bagel]

My god, I can't even find the forms I need! I'm using this /BK_Forms_Current/B_200.pdf to reference what documents i need from bankruptcyforms.aspx (I'm unable to post links).

What do 'Official Form 1', 'Official Form 22A' reference to? The only things I see are B1, B2, ect.


PS. I just bought the Nolo book, and plan to crack it open on my next day off.

[LadyInTheRed]

bagel, please get a lawyer. Not everybody is cut out to file pro-se.

[bagel]

To avoid anymore "get a a lawyer" responses, I suppose I should clarify that at this point that I have already made the decision to go pro se.

Moving on.. In my Nolo book, one of the forms listed is 'Form 201 - Notice to Consumer Debtors Under 342 of the Bankruptcy Code'. I don't see this form listed on the uscourts.gov website nor can I identify what I think would be the equivalent of this form. My Nolo book is from 2010, I don't know if that's why. Did this form change?

[ValleYum]

This is from the Western WA BK court but is about the form. There is a link to the form on the page I list below.

Notice to Consumer Debtor(s) (B201A)
[last updated: 11/21/2012]

The Administrative Office has revised Director’s Procedural Form B201, Notice to Consumer Debtor(s) under Section 342(b) of the Bankruptcy Code, to include warnings about the December 1, 2009, amendments to the Bankruptcy Rules which change a number of filing deadlines.

In addition, Form B201 has been divided into two parts, Form B201A, which is used to give the § 342(b) notice, and Form B201B, which includes a caption for filing and certifications that the notice has been given. Form B201B is needed only if the certification is not made on Official Form B1, the Voluntary Petition. A certification by the debtor’s attorney is included in Exhibit B on page 2 of Form B1 and certifications by the debtor and a bankruptcy petition preparer are part of the Declarations on page 3.

https://www.wawb.uscourts.gov/view.htm?f=15&id=42