It is natural to wonder if you can file bankruptcy yourself. The answer is, of course, you can. But you should be more concerned with the potential benefits and burdens involved. Just because you can file bankruptcy yourself doesn’t mean that you should.
In typical consumer cases, attorney fees range from a low of about $700 in a simple Chapter 7 case and may approach $2,500 to $3,000 in somewhat complex Chapter 13 cases which involve creditor objections. Compared to the potential financial gain (i.e. charging off hundreds of thousands of dollars in secured and unsecured debts), saving a couple of thousand dollars in attorney fees by filing yourself could create 100 times more risk.
Nevertheless, in the simplest cases, you probably can file bankruptcy yourself successfully so long as you put forth a good-faith effort to comply with all legal requirements. Also, you can’t be shy about asserting your opinions and rights before a judge. This is crucial.
Any creditor may file an objection at any time. The judge presiding over a case ultimately decides if the objection should be granted. Many debtors mistakenly believe that judges and trustees will protect them if creditors over reach or file unjustified objections. Be aware, court personnel and judges are not required to represent debtors or a debtor’s best interest. They cannot provide any party with legal advice. The court’s interest and debtor’s interest may coincide or they may not. In either case, debtors who do not have an attorney are solely responsible for representing themselves.
Creditors often consider debtors who represent themselves as low-hanging fruit. These creditors may file questionable objections with the hope that the pro se debtor (a debtor without an attorney) may neglect a procedural point, file a response late, or fail to assert their rights correctly when appearing in court. During a contested hearing, all parties-in-interest will have an opportunity to be heard before the judge issues a final ruling. If you file bankruptcy yourself, you must be prepared to argue the law properly and convincingly and to defeat questionable objections confidently. A judge may truly want to decide in your favor, but if you fail to request relief in the proper way, the judge’s hands are tied and the judge will not help you.
If paying attorney fees is a problem, you may want to consider using free bankruptcy attorneys. Several different sources provide this service. For instance, many state bar associations provide a free lawyer referral service that also includes referrals to local sources that provide free bankruptcy lawyers. In addition, city and county bar associations frequently provide similar free services.
Free legal clinics are common in larger metropolitan areas. These clinics typically limit services to people who can prove a significant hardship. If you have a history of earning an average income or better, you will find it difficult to qualify.
All state bar associations encourage member attorneys to provide (to some small extent) voluntary pro bono services. Because pro bono services are voluntary, few attorneys actually do provide free services to the general public. This is not to say that attorneys do not provide free services, because they do, but these services are generally reserved for people are discovered and contacted by an attorney. You will probably find the process frustrating if you call local attorneys and ask for free services. Your rate of success would be similar to calling insurance agents and asking for free coverage.
You have a third option. You could spend an hour or two familiarizing yourself with bankruptcy laws, options and alternatives. You could take the means test yourself while at home. This process is easy when using a high-quality self-help manual. Once you are armed with knowledge and your personal test results, consider requesting a free consultation and discussing your concerns with a local attorney.
Almost all attorneys provide a one-time free consultations to all potential clients. These meetings create a rich opportunity to discuss your rights, air your concerns, ask for answers, and evaluate the difficulty of your case. By the way, you can discuss your case with as many attorneys as you like before deciding if or when you actually retain an attorney.
