Online Bankruptcy Software / Forms????

[gman]

Does anyone have experience using an online software program to complete all of the forms required to do a pro se filing?

I am hoping to find a program for bankruptcy like the most popular one for taxes: Turbo Tax Online.

I am in the Northern Georgia district and filing a Chapter 7 if that matters.

Thanks for your advice.

[empowered]

For my Chapter 13 filing, my attorneys used Best Case Bankruptcy. How do I know this? Of course, it's on every page of my copy of the filing documents.

I looked at the site awhile back and have heard people mention demos of it or other software but I didn't hear of any Turbo Tax-like solutions before, for my pro se Chapter 7, I went with the tried-and-sort-of-true solution of alternating between my own District's forms and the slightly more usable fill-in forms from the Federal site.

A big issue turned out to be the lack of accommodation of extra lines in the fill-in forms. I would often print out a draft and then re-do the form so that I would make reference to a continuation sheet that I would separately produce to contain the information that the fill-in forms did not seem to allow for but that the Best Case software seemed to have worked in without the continuation.

Let us know what you end up doing on this one please.

[gman]

For my Chapter 13 filing, my attorneys used Best Case Bankruptcy. How do I know this? Of course, it's on every page of my copy of the filing documents.

I looked at the site awhile back and have heard people mention demos of it or other software but I didn't hear of any Turbo Tax-like solutions before, for my pro se Chapter 7, I went with the tried-and-sort-of-true solution of alternating between my own District's forms and the slightly more usable fill-in forms from the Federal site.

A big issue turned out to be the lack of accommodation of extra lines in the fill-in forms. I would often print out a draft and then re-do the form so that I would make reference to a continuation sheet that I would separately produce to contain the information that the fill-in forms did not seem to allow for but that the Best Case software seemed to have worked in without the continuation.

Let us know what you end up doing on this one please.

Best Case is great software - but very very pricey. $900 for one user of the Chapter 7 version.

The company focuses on the ATTORNEY market - not the do it yourself DEBTORS.

[empowered]

I agree. I haven't heard of anything else but it seems like some people have tried to put the attorney solution to their own use, at least to the extent that they could use the demo.

Maybe we should make our own product. Or maybe it does already exist....

[gman]

Found these:

$49 - http://www.1clickbankruptcy.com/pricing.htm

$129 - http://www.guaranteedbankruptcy.com/...teed/index.asp

I figure you pay for what you get.

I just wish some real person here could vouch for the value / ease of use / etc.

[empowered]

*Guaranteed* Bankruptcy. What a reassuring name!

[empowered]

On the Guaranteed Bankruptcy one at least, that is a Web-based solution. For security reasons, I've not been interested in the Turbo Tax online tax solution, however cheap or free, and I would not do this for similar reasons. Some information should be kept on my own hard drive.

I really wonder how different these solutions are from fillable forms. Granted, I haven't looked terribly deeply at these. I wonder whether it's much different from just using a Nolo book in conjunction with whatever freebie forms you can pick up that comply with current local rules.

Just some of my own questions on these....

[ccsjoe]

On the Guaranteed Bankruptcy one at least, that is a Web-based solution. For security reasons, I've not been interested in the Turbo Tax online tax solution, however cheap or free, and I would not do this for similar reasons. Some information should be kept on my own hard drive.

I really wonder how different these solutions are from fillable forms. Granted, I haven't looked terribly deeply at these. I wonder whether it's much different from just using a Nolo book in conjunction with whatever freebie forms you can pick up that comply with current local rules.

Just some of my own questions on these....

The "solutions" select the forms you need based on the information you enter, do all the mathematical calculations for you and carry over the information across all forms..That's basically the difference.

[empowered]

cssjoe, you know that based on try-out or demo?

I wonder how good the user interface is and whether it truly makes it unnecessary to get to know the form (all attorney advice issues aside) in the same way that Turbo Tax eliminates much of the need to understand tax forms.

[ccsjoe]

Know it from a demo of the product used at my attorney's office, stuff works like turbotax. It is however the $900 license one, but it's the basic difference between Nolo+forms and the solution.

I just re-read my post and it appears I am replying to specifically the product mentioned in yours, for that I apologize, it was misleading.

[dumpinmydebt]

That would be great if there were a product like Turbo Tax, but for bankruptcy.

Someone needs to invent it.....

[tigergem]

I am using Best Case and my Trustee loves me for it.

[shrews228]

I am just beginning this Pro Se journey and was wondering if anyone has experience with the Standard Legal Bankruptcy software? From what I read on their website it is similar to Turbo Tax because it walks you through the forms and does math calculations. The cost is 49.95. I am wondering if it's worth it?

I have already bought the NOLO books and have been reading the forums obssessively. I am petrified of making a mistake on something so important.

Thanks for your input

Lynda

[justbroke]

There is Bankrupter as well, that has a "single-use" version that is about $49.95 per case. You actually download software and answer questions just like in Best Case. However, after personally using Best Case, Bankrupter and actually using an "on-line" preparer... Best Case is the BEST bar none. Of course, Best Case is made for the bankruptcy attorney office and not for the individual. I would only purchase a license if I was going to become a bankruptcy preparer.

Otherwise, Bankrupter looks promising, but it is NOT a "TurboTax" style product. You need to know what you're doing. (Same with Best Case.) I don't recommend ANY of the so-called "on-line" preparers. There are a variety of them with varying levels of service and support! THe one I used had old forms and made calculation errors even after I pointed them out to them. They said they only GUARANTEED that the forms would be "ACCEPTED" by the Bankruptcy Court.

While this wasn't the "Guaranteed Bankruptcy" site, the guarantee CERTAINLY is not that your bankruptcy will be discharged! CAVEAT EMPTOR!!!

[jcj112562]

I did not use any of the "software solution" things, and I also filed BK13 in the Northern District of Georgia. The court's website has a link to all of the forms needed to file, you can fill them out and print, *and* there is a list, under the link to the Clerk, of all the documents needed to file. The forms are all listed complete with instructions, and if you have the intestinal fortitude to do this pro se, you also probably have the ability to use Excel to do addition, and can get all the stuff filled out correctly, with a littl ehelp from the instructions as well as the inhabitants of this little corner of the web. I would guess that if the trustee asks you something out of the ordinary, the answer "the software put it there" is not going to be a satisfactory answer. If you go through the instructions, and fill out everything yoruself, you will *know* why you put things where you did, and probably have an easier trip through the system than if you "let your fingers do the walking" as it were. Just my 2 cents, keep the change.

John