Now days, with the wide availability of bankruptcy form processing services on Internet, filing bankruptcy online has now become easier and the good part of the story is that the process is very easy and time saving. If you understand the legal requirements associated with filing bankruptcy and you know what are the forms that you need to fill and submit in this regard, you do not even require hiring a bankruptcy attorney to help you with the procedure of filing bankruptcy.
This view could not be more false or erroneous, however. In fact, nothing - absolutely NOTHING - could be farther from the truth in the entire current administration of the bankruptcy system! Actually, what is really TRUE, is that objective experts and knowledgeable persons from all spectra in the bankruptcy industry, including lawyers, court trustees and judges, who specialize in bankruptcy, have it quite amply on the record that most personal bankruptcies are really simple. So much so, in fact, they say, that such work really don't need the services of a lawyer to handle since they are generally very elementary and largely clerical in nature, and so generally easy and simple to undertake. Most of such experts say that at least, with respect to Chapter 7, if not Chapter 13, debtors can easily file Chapter 7 bankruptcy without lawyer.
Depending upon the type of filing process you have chosen, the costs will vary. For example, filing bankruptcy online for chapter 7 bankruptcies and chapter 13 may cost you somewhere around two hundred dollars or less, depending upon the type of bankruptcy you are filing for.
Janice Kosel, Professor of law at Golden State University, San Francisco, and a recognized author and expert on personal bankruptcy issues, explains: "Do you need a lawyer in order to file a Chapter 13 (bankruptcy) repayment plan? No. [Even] Filing a Chapter 13 plan is often easier than preparing your income tax return. If you can do that, you can probably handle your... [bankruptcy] yourself...There is no requirement (under the law) that you have to have a lawyer (in order to file for bankruptcy)...You can choose to represent yourself." Stephen Elias, California Attorney, prominent author and specialist in bankruptcy law, most recently summed it up this way: "There is seldom a good reason to use an attorney in a consumer Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. The procedures are almost exclusively administrative - that is, there is no appearance before a judge...The forms are all (with very few exceptions) pre-printed in plain English....[But, in spite of that fact], What's tragic is that people actually think they have to have attorney representation [to be able to do it]."
If you do not want to hire a bankruptcy attorney, it will be wiser for you to take advantage of the various online bankruptcy services. They are known as online bankruptcy form processors. They will help you in several ways. For example, when you submit your specific bankruptcy case to them along with all the relevant information, they will suggest you the right type of bankruptcy that you should claim for and they will provide you the right bankruptcy forms to fill. Once you submit those forms, they will review all the information you provided with the forms. If some information is missing, the online bankruptcy forms processor will inform you regarding the same and will ask you to submit the missing information.
The second responsibility you will have relates to the cost of bankruptcy. There is a cost to file a bankruptcy, it is a monthly cost that is largely governed by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy (a division of the Federal government). They have set a threshold level of income that is allowable given your family size. If your income falls below the threshold you qualify for a minimum cost that is set by the local trustee and if your income exceeds the threshold your cost of bankruptcy will be based on a calculation that is mandated across the country. Again, this is something that your trustee will review with you in detail well in advance of you filing for bankruptcy.
This view could not be more false or erroneous, however. In fact, nothing - absolutely NOTHING - could be farther from the truth in the entire current administration of the bankruptcy system! Actually, what is really TRUE, is that objective experts and knowledgeable persons from all spectra in the bankruptcy industry, including lawyers, court trustees and judges, who specialize in bankruptcy, have it quite amply on the record that most personal bankruptcies are really simple. So much so, in fact, they say, that such work really don't need the services of a lawyer to handle since they are generally very elementary and largely clerical in nature, and so generally easy and simple to undertake. Most of such experts say that at least, with respect to Chapter 7, if not Chapter 13, debtors can easily file Chapter 7 bankruptcy without lawyer.
Depending upon the type of filing process you have chosen, the costs will vary. For example, filing bankruptcy online for chapter 7 bankruptcies and chapter 13 may cost you somewhere around two hundred dollars or less, depending upon the type of bankruptcy you are filing for.
Janice Kosel, Professor of law at Golden State University, San Francisco, and a recognized author and expert on personal bankruptcy issues, explains: "Do you need a lawyer in order to file a Chapter 13 (bankruptcy) repayment plan? No. [Even] Filing a Chapter 13 plan is often easier than preparing your income tax return. If you can do that, you can probably handle your... [bankruptcy] yourself...There is no requirement (under the law) that you have to have a lawyer (in order to file for bankruptcy)...You can choose to represent yourself." Stephen Elias, California Attorney, prominent author and specialist in bankruptcy law, most recently summed it up this way: "There is seldom a good reason to use an attorney in a consumer Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. The procedures are almost exclusively administrative - that is, there is no appearance before a judge...The forms are all (with very few exceptions) pre-printed in plain English....[But, in spite of that fact], What's tragic is that people actually think they have to have attorney representation [to be able to do it]."
If you do not want to hire a bankruptcy attorney, it will be wiser for you to take advantage of the various online bankruptcy services. They are known as online bankruptcy form processors. They will help you in several ways. For example, when you submit your specific bankruptcy case to them along with all the relevant information, they will suggest you the right type of bankruptcy that you should claim for and they will provide you the right bankruptcy forms to fill. Once you submit those forms, they will review all the information you provided with the forms. If some information is missing, the online bankruptcy forms processor will inform you regarding the same and will ask you to submit the missing information.
The second responsibility you will have relates to the cost of bankruptcy. There is a cost to file a bankruptcy, it is a monthly cost that is largely governed by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy (a division of the Federal government). They have set a threshold level of income that is allowable given your family size. If your income falls below the threshold you qualify for a minimum cost that is set by the local trustee and if your income exceeds the threshold your cost of bankruptcy will be based on a calculation that is mandated across the country. Again, this is something that your trustee will review with you in detail well in advance of you filing for bankruptcy.
About the Author:
Frank Miller has a Debt Consolidation Blog & Finance, these are some of the articles: Personal Bankruptcy: Is It The Right Choice For You? You have full permission to reprint this article provided this box is kept unchanged.
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