Chapter 7 - File yourself??

[amlem05]

I am new to this site. Just wondering if anyone has any input or information to help me decide on filing Chapter 7 on my own or through an attorney. Any comments welcome. If you've done this yourself, any recommendation on what site to use to get the forms?? I've seen quite a few out there and just alittle bit weary on which to use, if any. Attorney fees are too much for me as I am a single mother struggling from a divorce. Advise Help!!!

[nervousinohio]

Well, this is just my opinion, but I would find it so much more stressful to do it yourself. I know that attorney fees are a lot. Most attorneys that I know of offer free consulations. . .maybe you can see what they have to say for free before you make a big decision.
Just my opinion. Hope this helps a little. Good Luck!

[bkfiler]

my opinion after having used an attorney is i would still geet another attorney next time as well. if though he is making some mistakes and i have to watch him. when you need questions answered then they come in handy to say the least. they guide you on working your case and the do's and dont's as well.

look around. many of u shave attorneys and we still got tons of questions. i cant imagine what it would be like without one.

shop around and get prices for lots of diff attorneys. its free and you will learn a great deal in the meantime about your bk.

[Teri]

I filed on my own and feel pretty good about the filing - I do not believe an attorney would have done much more for me - you do have to do some research though

[StaciMM]

I filed on my own, used form7.com software to enter my info & print my petition. I had no problems.

BUT... THere are more requirements now and I filed before the laws changed. I think you can still do it on your own, but before you get started-research what is required. I understand that more paperwork is required to back up your petition (such as income verification, tax copies, etc.) and your case can be DISMISSED if you don't get it all in as scheduled.

Consult w/ 2-3 attorneys-ask any & all questions you can think of regarding your case. At the same time, read-read-read whatever you can regarding what is involved in BK. In the end, decide which one you preferred & hire him/her OR decide to go it on your own.

[Kam]

We filed CH7 ourselves as well, and it has gone very smoothly except for a couple of "minor" hitches regarding our vehicles. I would suggest, even if you do retain an attorney, to take the time and thoroughly investigate the various BK boards/forums available. I would also check out the federal bankruptcy website and pay close attention to all the information, even check out the forms sections. I am not talking just about the Chapter 7 forms, but the various forms that should be filed if you plan on redeeming or reaffirming a vehicle, filing a response to a lift of stay motion, etc. Our little "snafu" occurred when I filed a reaffirmation agreement initiated by a title loan place. The kind lady at the court house filed and recorded the paperwork as "amended paperwork" and not as a "reaffirm." I knew the Trustee would have to schedule a hearing since we filed pro se and we kept waiting for a response from the court. Turns out it was some six weeks later before the Court Clerk noticed the wrong form had been filed. By the time the mistake was discovered we were only days away from closing.

So, familiarize yourself with as much as you can, read! read! read! If you have vehicles you want to keep, then check out 722redemption.com. They only work with Chapter 7's and only those who have an attorney should you choose to redeem your car. Our chapter 7 was discharged before we were able to finalize a deal on a "new" car, so we lost out there. We will still be able to "redeem" our two old cars on title loans since the BK is discharged, and we are okay with that. One of the cars is driven by our teenage daughter and the other clunker will probably outlast everything we own ! lol!

You can successfully file pro se. There is alot more work involved, but it is definitely an educating experience. There is alot of advice and help to be found on this board alone.

[Minnymouth]

Filing pro se comes easy for some hard for others. Understanding the new laws, initinarys of schedules, and deadlines, can be mind boggling for the best of us.

We here on this forum can support you, encourage you, be there for you and often help you in filing out forms and guide you where to find forms and information you might need.

Most of us are not qualified to give legal advice and most don't anyways.

If attorney fees are too high, consider a paralegal. Do the paperwork yourself, take it to a paralegal and let them check it over - a lot cheaper....... some charge $125.00 to $200.00.

Just remember if you file pro se - You represent yourself, you are responsible for all documents, court hearings, etc. You will have no one to help you in court or answer questions (unless we can help here on the forum)

One small mistake can cause your case to be dismissed. Thats the main reason that most hire an attorney.

Good luck, keep us posted on what you think or decided.
Got questions, feel free to ask.

Minny

[AAAArt]

Personally, I doubt that I could have made it without an attorney, and that was under the old laws. For me, it wasn't as much a matter of knowledge, but rather an emotional issue.
We all do what we have to do and hopefully what is best for us. Only you can make the choice, There are a lot of people on here who have done it themselves and very successfully. Investigate, research, meet w/ atty's for free consults and then do what you think is best.
Regardless which way you go, you will have lots of questions and need to vent at times. This is the perfect place to find support for that.
Next to my atty. (who, in my opinion, was a once in a lifetime find and a pure gift from God) this forum has been my most valuable resource.
My atty. was a Bk specialist who had been involved in some very major cases when he was in a large city and has been published in numerous legal journals, moved to our smaller community. He only has a part-time secretary now and his wife works as his legal aide. I musst have 30 or more e-mails from her and a couple from him during the process. We found e-mail and fax a very effective way to communicate. Any question I had, there was a response within a day ir two. If there was an award for excellence in customer service for lawyers, I would nominate this couple.

[quest42]

Did anyone try standardlegal? www.standardlegal.com

I looked at many other options -- and then I choose www.Form7.com software, bought it on 10/11/05, and it did the job for me, with a few very long days of work! I guess they have not finished doing all their updates yet for the new rules... Ask them if they need any beta testers???

Just do NOT tell the Form7 program to put your ACCOUNT NUMBERS on your MAILING LIST MATRIX... that screwed up my diskette, because I had a few blank account numbers (my own fault.) When my first mailing went out from the court, there were a few rejects... (Many courts use the mailing list that you provide to them on diskette to mail out notices to your creditors.)

Other than that, I'd give the form7 software an A-.

I can also recommend the NOLO books (www.Nolo.com) very highly! But -- they will not have updates for the new rules until NEXT YEAR, as I've read.


What about STANDARDLEGAL bankruptcy software?

Did anyone here use www.standardlegal.com ??? I did a search here to see if there are any remarks or experiences... found nothing on standardlegal ... yet? It's under $50.

Other options?

The NEW forms at www.uscourts.gov are more user-friendly than the old forms... you can enter your data, and save it on your hard drive, then go back and modify it. I am referring to the PDF files for all the BK forms.

http://www.uscourts.gov/bkforms/index.html

The OLD forms scared me away -- using Adobe Acrobat Reader, I could not save my data, could only enter and print it, and would have to re-enter it all if I needed to make any changes. The new forms let you SAVE your data. But, you still have to organize your data better and do more work yourself than if you use some software that helps organize it for you.

I'd stay away from online, web-based, forms prep... too many horror stories!


Here's what I would've wanted to know a month ago:

The FORM7 software makes it easier, because they provide some case studies to look at, and the software helps lead you through the long, tedious data entry process... They answered all my email questions within a day, but they cannot give legal advice. The software helps match up your data for Schedule B (assets) and Schedule C (exemptions), helps you select the specific exemption law coding, and sorts your creditors alphabetically... and does a few other helpful clerical functions. It's like training wheels for filling out BK forms -- worth EVERY thrifty penny of the $34.95 I paid!

You can download "case studies" for yourself by doing queries on PACER and dowloading public records, actual bk forms filed in your district, on any specific date... for example. http://pacer.uscourts.gov/

LOTS of QUESTIONS will come up as you read, learn, organize all your data, and begin filling out forms... only an attorney can guide you, but if you are willing to take on all the responsibility for yourself, it can be done -- if you are patient, dilligent, and persistent!

Attorneys charge between $500 and $1,500 (maybe more under the new system) for simple cases... and paralegals charge $150 - $200 just to "help you fill out the forms." Not a bad deal for good help -- If I had the money, I would have used a paralegal, but I could not even afford $150 at the time. (On top of the $209 it cost to file then, and now it's more.)

Remember, their business went from THOUSANDS of cases per month per district, down to DOZENS of cases per month since October 17th! They must be getting VERY hungry for business!? IN my district, about 500 cases were filed on 10/14 and less than about 20 since then...