Many people who think about filing for bankruptcy often want to avoid legal costs and either look to do their case themselves or pay a petition preparation company that charge anywhere from $200 to $500 to prepare the forms. The problem with not at least consulting with a qualified bankruptcy attorney is that you are going into a very complex federal court system. It is not just a matter of a few simple forms.
If your forms and schedules are not done properly with the most up to date forms or they are not filed in compliance with the federal and local rules of procedure, your case can be dismissed within a matter of weeks of filing. Not only will you have to possibly pay the filing fee again to re-file, the court often imposes a ban on re-filing for 6 months. The court can also prohibit re-filing for an even longer time if they think your filing was an abuse of the system.
I have clients come in and end up spending even more money in the long run for me to fix the problems and properly advise them than if they would have just come to me in the first place. Petition preparation companies often give legal advice, even though they are not supposed to. They tell people that they can remove 2nd mortgage or qualify for chapter 7 filing status, only to have the client later learn that they were not properly advised.
Most bankruptcy lawyers will offer free consultations, so even if you don't hire them, you should at least get some advice before moving forward to be sure you are properly represented.
Chris Barsness, Bankruptcy Lawyer
http://www.bankruptcylawyerla.net
No comments:
Post a Comment