File your own ch. 7

[anybankruptcy]

Visit www.anybankruptcy.com to file your own bankruptcy. The forms can be filled in using a computer or printed and completed by hand. these forms were great for me. I filed my own ch. 7 with no hassles. Give it a try. www.anybankruptcy.com

[robivi3]

You state that there is no hearing in front of a judge only a trustees hearing. Well I can tell you that in my Chapter 7 the trustee hired an Attorney and had a deposition and i went for a hearing in front of the Judge.

I was a chump change BK 7 with so called "assets". I'm talking, literally, daily clothing, a 2001 truck worth more than what was owed on it and a used 96' Corsica which the Trustee tried to GROSSLY ionflate with the KBB value, also home furnishings and a small amount of stock.

Be very careful about doing anything without an Atty. My 2300.00 was very well spent.

People need to understand that the Trustee is not an imaprtial, sympathetic person, he is not supposed to be. If you have no assets of course you can file by yourself. If you own vehicles or a home, furniture, jewelry, AND you are honest enough not to attempt to lie under oath then you need an Attorney. You may not think you have assets but he is a sniffer...

Precisely because Bankruptcy Legislation has not passed the Trustee is also under pressure to scrutinize cases more and more. The no asset cases he takes Pro-bono in hopes of getting afew good fish.

If you do end up with the Trustee coming after you a Judge does not particularly care to have someone play Attorney, it complicates things. I can't stress it enough... consult with an Attorney before you think of going on your own, complications always spring up in Bankruptcy.

[tinroofrusted]

I didn't see anywhere in his/her post where they said there was no hearing.... unless you are reading something that I can't see.


I filed the paperwork on my own. I own nothing. I own two gold rings, and my bed, and that's about it. If they want it that bad, they can come and look for it.


I think you could have gotten a much better deal for a lot less than $2300.00. Sounds like you got MAJORLY ripped off to me.

[robivi3]

When you own a business, and the business has even minute assets bankruptcies can get very complicated. According to the research I've done on Trustees and the Federal Courts I did very well. There is absolutely no lickety split Bankruptcy with property involved anymore. Because bankruptcy legislation keeps failing to pass, the Trustee is recieving more pressure to scrutinize smaller cases. You have to remember that Florida is a major bankruptcy state with the highest filing stats in the Country. People move here and buy a large home because they know that it can't be touched.

In South Florida the going rate for an attorney is 250.00 to 300.00 per hour. The flat fee, after i looked into several Attorneys ran from 950.00 plus 200.00 filing fee to 1150.00 plus 200.00 filing fee. In all cases that includes a standard Ch. 7 with only the initial creditors meeting, discharge and case closed. Add on to that two depositions (5 hours) regarding the business accounts ($88,000.00), a hearing (2 hours), and several other minor matters. I was looking at first at a hefty payout to the Trustee. I was looking at giving up an Auto I needed, less than three years old, more than half paid off, with an extremely high resale (KBB) value. Add on to that my home which if you know the South Florida housing market had more than doubled in value by that time (yes, I was being pushed by deed, not word, because the trustee could get in trouble, to sell the house, the problem is there would be no place to move to, an older single family home in a fair neighborhood starts at about $260,000.00). My townhome sells for around $200,000.00. A new townhome here starts at 245,000.00. No single family new construction starts below at under 350,000.00. That is a well publicized conscious decision made by the builders. A decent Apartment with three bedrooms (density laws) costs about 1200.00 to 1400.00 and with a BK about three mos. down IF they will rent to you, ususally they will not. There's a housing shortage so they don't need the hassle.

If you own a 150,000.00 condo here your homeowners insurance starts at around 1400.00 per year. My mothers "55 and older only" one bedroom townhome near here was only 85,000.00. She was lucky, she does not have to pay insurance, but she has to pay a 400.00 a month maintenance fee which includes insurance. For a townhome like mine I am paying 2100.00 per year for insurance plus TWO seperate maintenance fees plus property taxes of 3800.00 per year. For two cars insured with no claim ever filed, two drivers, same company twelve years i'm paying 2316.00 per year, and one has no comp or collision, if i change companies my fees will increase for the first five years, we have the highest rates in the Country.

So, one attorney, 2300.00 including all filing fees, 3 extra hearings, drive time, numerous phone calls, letters. Money well spent because i was able to stay intact. Still struggling, yes, but better off. I learned my lesson. I explained everything to him, he explained all of the ramifications up front. I looked carefully for about six months for an Attorney. Some Attorneys will hint at you doing shady things to make the process go faster. Shady Attorneys make me very uncomfortable and i wouldn't touch one. Anything you play games with can come up at you later. I was honest and it cost me more, but I don't have worries like that to complicate life.

It absolutely does state on their website that there is only one hearing. Please look at the website.

Years ago my elderly father had married a younger woman who became very abusive. She even tried putting him on a Greyhound Bus (Greyhound, thank God refused refused to board him because of his condition) and told the clerk that " I have to get rid of this man". She then left him in the station. Miami Police called me, that's how I found out. It was a complicated issue, he refused to leave her and went back with her. She later applied to become his sole Guardian thinking I would just sign him away. I came with my Attorney to the hearing. She had lied to legal aide and stated that she and my dad had no income. I showed the Judge, legal aide and the Guardian that my dad retirement income exceeded 48,000.00 per year and that they owned a Condo on the Beach. Legal aide walked out. At the next hearing she came in without an attorney the Judge told her along with a terse five minute speech... NEVER APPEAR IN FRONT OF ME WITHOUT AN ATTORNEY! My Attorney won the case and i was able to use the opportunity to help my Dad.

In your case you probably can go it alone. Had i been without a family I would have walked away from all of it. But for most people, elderly, other complications it is not cut and dried. You find people losing trailers and fretting over it because of their circumstances. The truth is, you may not think you have many assets. you may think that your case will be cut and dried as all the people (except my Attorney) I talked to said theirs were. I found out later that they they lied about certain issues. But may find yourself needing a lawyer when its late in the game and at that point you may not be able to pay him because if you have the funds they may already taken or accounted in your final discharge by the Trustee. The Judge may grant certain things but he will almost never go against the Trustee. The Trustee is the Trustee of the Federal Court, his job is to secure what he can for the creditors, of course we all know he wants "Da' money" for himself!