Do-It-Yourself Bankruptcy
Re-printed With Permission Original Article Written By: Brian Reed
Do it Yourself Bankruptcy Filing
Do-it-yourself bankruptcy is generally not a good idea unless you get proper help or have previously filed bankruptcy. Filing bankruptcy, whether chapter 7 or chapter 13 can be a difficult process, but it is not all difficult. Some parts of the process are easy and some are difficult. Here are the various parts of the bankruptcy process.
- Gathering the information needed for the do-it-yourself bankruptcy filing.
- Learning bankruptcy laws and procedures such as the classification of debts, bankruptcy exemption need for filing the do-it-yourself bankruptcy
- Preparing the bankruptcy forms for the do-it-yourself bankruptcy.
- Taking the mandatory counseling class needed before filing the do-it-yourself bankruptcy.
- Filing the completed bankruptcy forms with the bankruptcy court clerk.
- Getting the court filing fee waived if you qualify for the waiving of the bankruptcy filing fee.
- Amending the do-it-yourself bankruptcy forms if you need to make changes after you have filed bankruptcy.
- Appearing at the creditor meeting.
- Preparing reaffirmations if needed.
- Getting the discharge.
It is not a good idea to file do-it-yourself bankruptcy without help. Since you will most likely file bankruptcy only once in your life and when you file, you will discharge many thousands of dollars in debt, it does not make sense to take this big task on without help.
If you have never filed bankruptcy, it may seem like just a bunch of fill-in-the-blank forms, but that is an understatement. If you attempted to prepare the documents by yourself, you will appreciate the need to do it right the first time In spite of this caution, there will always be those who will ignore advice and get themselves in a knot. There are any number of reasons why people get into financial trouble and need to file bankruptcy and for some, it could be, making careless mistakes with credit. To get out of the mess, do it right and avoid the temptation to save a buck and inadvertently muck it up.
The most difficult part of filing do-it-yourself bankruptcy is preparing the dozens of pages of a complete bankruptcy filing. Depending on your debts, your do-it-yourself bankruptcy filing could be as many as 70 pages of paperwork.
If you can afford it, hire a trained expert such as a lawyer or full-service bankruptcy preparation service. Full-service bankruptcy preparers will do the same thing a lawyer will do, except they cannot give you legal advice.
Chapter 7 do-it-yourself bankruptcy is really about common sense and so most people do not need legal advice. It just comes down to the documents. However, if you operate a business and the business needs to file do-it-yourself bankruptcy, hire an attorney for sure. Otherwise, use a full-service bankruptcy preparation service.
There are several good full-service bankruptcy preparation companies to choose from. We have checked out most of them and have compiled a list of the ones we know to be reputable. If you know of any that are not on the list below, tell us about them in our comment section below.
Here are the most reputable full-service bankruptcy service companies.
- Miller Bankruptcy Group
- Bridgeport American Bankruptcy
- Zmt Bankruptcy
- USA Bankruptcy Associates
- Easy Bk Services
- Debtor Aid
What is Full-service bankruptcy preparation? Click here to read our article on this popular alternative to bankruptcy lawyers.
Do-It-Yourself Bankruptcy Software
We strongly advise people to avoid do-it-yourself bankruptcy software. Except for Guaranteed Bankruptcy Software, just about all the other bankruptcy software sites sell the same blank forms that you can download for free from any bankruptcy web site. They re-label it as software and sell it for usually around $49.99 to unsuspecting buyers.
In spite of this cautionary note, a lot of people will read this and still pay for pretend bankruptcy software. There will always be those who take the wrong path despite the warning. Just do not be one of them. Play it safe and have a full-service bankruptcy company prepare your bankruptcy for you, or hire an attorney.
To learn how to file your bankruptcy online, click here for the step-by-step process to filing bankruptcy with a full-service bankruptcy preparation company.
Our Recommended Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Picks
There are lots of good bankruptcy preparation companies that debtors can choose from but our pick is USA Bankruptcy Associates for online bankruptcy preparation. Here are our reasons for picking this company.
USA Bankruptcy Associates is the oldest bankruptcy preparation site around. They began as a regular attorney support company in California back in 1990 and then branched into the internet starting around 2000. Since then they have prepared more than 30,000 bankruptcies. I like that they have been around for such a long time and were the first to offer real-time online bankruptcy preparation. I also like the positive feedback that I get from readers of the blog who have used USA Bankruptcy Associates.
A close pick is Miller Bankruptcywhich is also a full-service bankruptcy preparation company. I have seen a lot of reviews where Miller Bankruptcy has been picked over USA Bankruptcy Associates but in my opinion, it still comes down to price verses features. Miller Bankruptcy is more expensive and though they have more after-bankruptcy features, I do not know if it justifies the significantly higher price. The Miller Bankruptcy claim to fame is their Labyrinth which they claim can help you hide or block your bankruptcy from the credit bureaus but that is nothing new.
More than ten years ago, USA Bankruptcy Associates pioneered that concept and I recall that it was so successful that many bankruptcy courts began to instruct their clerks to watch out for debtors using this USA Bankruptcy Associates technique. Just about everyone who used the company back then was able to hide their bankruptcy from the credit bureaus. That was until the court clerks began to intervene in what was obviously not their damn business and what was clearly a legitimate loophole in chapter 7 bankruptcy law.
To make a long story short, USA Bankruptcy Associates stopped offering that service and instead, focused on just preparing good bankruptcies and helping people to remove the bankruptcy from the credit bureaus, rather than blocking it from entering the credit report in the first place. While Miller Bankruptcy is a well regarded bankruptcy preparation company, they probably missed the memo on the bankruptcy hiding thing. Or it could simply be that they have found a way around the court clerks. In fact I have it on good authority that they use a better technique than the original one introduced by USA bankruptcy Associates but I am generally skeptical about new and improved things.
My opinion anyway is that if you want to file bankruptcy, use a solid company and for me, that is USA bankruptcy Associates. If they can help you with your credit after bankruptcy, then great, but who wants credit after bankruptcy? Credit was what got you in the mess in the first place so when they offer to help you get back on your credit binge, say thanks but no thanks.
Some of the other companies to consider are Bridgeport American Bankruptcy and Easy Bk services. They too are good full-service companies and you cannot go wrong with them. Stay away from bankruptcy software because there are no bankruptcy software designed for individual consumers. There are web sites claiming to sell bankruptcy software but they do not really sell software. Bankruptcy software is very difficult to develope so what a few sites do is take the same free bankruptcy forms that anyone can get from the court web sites and they repackage and call it software. They usually cost about $49.95 but it is a waste of money since it is the same free forms.
Our Pick:USA Bankruptcy Associates
A lot of people ask us if they can file bankruptcy for free and the answer is yes. It is possible to file bankruptcy for free and we can show you how. Find the article in the left navigation bar.
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