New Member Filing on Monday

[lrprn]

The problems and complaints in here and elsewhere seem to FAR outnumber the people that are happy with their choice of a BK lawyer.

Whoa!! Be careful here - comparing the number of happy filers with lawyers to unhappy filers with lawyers solely on the numbers of both here in the forums is VERY misleading.

Unhappy filers with lawyers go out on the internet to find answers, find our forum, and join. Happy Ch 7 filers with lawyers typically don't - they aren't members here. The numbers here from both groups are skewed considerably.

If you look at the national average numbers, 75-80% of Ch 7 bankruptcy filers file with a lawyer. Even in the highest pro se districts, no more than 29% file without a lawyer (For those interested, here's a goldmine of bk stats compiled by the US Courts - http://www.uscourts.gov/bnkrpctystat...uptcystats.htm)

I agree with our members who say if you have a very simple, straightforward case (and from what the original poster shared, she does), then it's possible with a lot of study to file pro se and sail through with flying colors. We have multiple members here who have done it, but they did their homework first.

However, there are also members here who tried to go it alone and got into serious trouble because they didn't understand the law, didn't know about the latest case law decisions, and/or weren't aware of their local court customs or their trustee's idiosyncracies. This is where most pro se filers run into the biggest problems.

[Debster222]

http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/

Pacer is a website where you can track all of your (or anybody elses) court cases, bankruptcy or other us cases.

You need to sign up for a log in, they will e-mail you that, and know it's not free. .08 cents per page you look at, but it's a good way to keep track of your case, just don't go looking at it on a daily basis, or it will cost you $$$,
Changes don't occur frequently, so it isn't necessary to look at it all of the time, but it will give you the outline of what was filed, and give you your status on the Bk case.

I see. That's pretty cool. I may use that at some point.

[BK2008]

Thank you, Joe Farmer! I am happy for the encouragement and although the filling out the forms is a bit daunting, I am feeling better about it every minute I work on it. I am going through the forms now.

frobscottle....Thank you so much for your post. I really am feeling better and less nervous. I am glad to hear from others who have done the pro-se. That's what I was hoping for here.

I do have to ask though...what is pacer?

http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/

Pacer is a website where you can track all of your (or anybody elses) court cases, bankruptcy or other us cases.

You need to sign up for a log in, they will e-mail you that, and know it's not free. .08 cents per page you look at, but it's a good way to keep track of your case, just don't go looking at it on a daily basis, or it will cost you $$$,
Changes don't occur frequently, so it isn't necessary to look at it all of the time, but it will give you the outline of what was filed, and give you your status on the Bk case.

[Debster222]

I filed pro-se. At first the paperwork seemed intimidating....and the pdf forms from the state's bk site were not user friendly. So I got the fillable forms from 1clickbankruptcy.com after another member from here recommended it. I thought they were pretty good. I also went down to my bk office and used their pacer for free to do research on how some of the attorneys filled out the petitions. That helped a lot.

The trustee didn't have any complaints on my paperwork so I guess I must have done it right. Just study, pace yourself, and ask questions if you are going to go pro-se. It is a project and isn't something to be done overnight.

I got some free fillable forms from another source for free and they are far easier and neater than trying to fill them out by hand. If anyone here needs the forms that are fillable in Acrobat, let me know.

[Debster222]

Thank you, Joe Farmer! I am happy for the encouragement and although the filling out the forms is a bit daunting, I am feeling better about it every minute I work on it. I am going through the forms now.

frobscottle....Thank you so much for your post. I really am feeling better and less nervous. I am glad to hear from others who have done the pro-se. That's what I was hoping for here.

I do have to ask though...what is pacer?

[frobscottle]

I filed pro-se, having a very simple situation. No business, no real property, no secured loans, passed means test. I had the sense that every lawyer I spoke to was trying to sucker me. Had the 341 on 7/8/08. The trustee asked me if I had had any help. I told him I had the Nolo book and some internet resources. He said I had done a very nice job of the filing and he was very pleased with it. He told me he saved my case for last so that I could hear the questions asked of the other debtors since I was the only pro-se filer that day.

You're right about the lawyer's fee. If your case is simple it's not worth $1,500.00. Go ahead and spend a few dollars looking at pacer cases in your area. Doing that really helped me relax about the whole thing. I found that some cases filed by lawyers don't appear to be all that well prepared.

Don't be afraid. Remember the bankruptcy laws are there for your protection. The people you will deal with are diligent but don't confuse that with the notion that they're biased in favor of the cc companies and are looking for some minor reason for dismissal or conversion. They're not.

Take a deep breath, be honest, do a good job of the paperwork and you'll be fine.

[Joe Farmer]

Debster- I HEAR you!

The problems and complaints in here and elsewhere seem to FAR outnumber the people that are happy with their choice of a BK lawyer. I say go for it- and when it is done treat yourself to a vacation or a spa treatment to congratulate yourself on going it for yourself....GRRRR.
Go for it!!

[ameliabedilia]

We filed pro se. We were no asset and fairly simple as well. However- I would not file Monday if you just got the book and have only been on here a few days. I would definitely wait a week at least while you study, also I would talk to a lawyer at the bk office or legal aid. I had one look over my paperwork before I turned it in.
Going it alone can be done if you are prepared!

[danaf]

I filed pro-se. At first the paperwork seemed intimidating....and the pdf forms from the state's bk site were not user friendly. So I got the fillable forms from 1clickbankruptcy.com after another member from here recommended it. I thought they were pretty good. I also went down to my bk office and used their pacer for free to do research on how some of the attorneys filled out the petitions. That helped a lot.

The trustee didn't have any complaints on my paperwork so I guess I must have done it right. Just study, pace yourself, and ask questions if you are going to go pro-se. It is a project and isn't something to be done overnight.

[Debster222]

I wish my attorney would have only wanted 1500.

I was very happy that I retained an attorney instead of me having to do all the work and worry about things.

I really think if you are serious about filing yourself, you will need to study all you can and make sure everything is done the proper way.

Good Luck!

Thanks, Cali! I'm sorry you had to fork out even more than that. I feel like I was baited, but I'm not falling for the hook. When I first called, they asked me some questions about my situation and told me they could do what they call an "assisted 7" which meant they would prepare the papers and I'd do the leg work and go to the 341 meeting alone. When I got there, he said that because I already had an active garnishment, that he couldn't do the assisted. I TOLD the girl on the phone about the garnishment.

[Debster222]

I agree with Cali. Having an attorney is definitely the best choice. The only way we would have considered pro se would have been if we were a simple, no asset, below-median case. Even then I would have thought long and hard before tackling BK by myself

That's about where I'm at. I have no assets anymore...sold most of it off a year and half or so ago trying to stay afloat. I was taking care of my mother who was dying of cancer and the man I've been with for 16 years became very ill the first of this year and this has pretty much depleted all the savings we had. I live in a rental house and I work at the Kmart Distribution Center here in Colorado. I only make $12.00 an hour. I do have a fairly new car...2005...but I owe more than blue book says it's worth, or it's a wash, at best.

I have not stocks, bonds, investment or retirement accounts. Heck, if it weren't for the fact that Discover Bank just started garnishing my wages, I'd just ignore the debts and not worry about it. Most of the people just wrote me off and don't bother me anymore.

I've been researching and reading on this for several months now and I really think I can do this.

[Debster222]

First things first. Have you done the Credit Counseling and made arrangements for the Debt Management course required before discharge?
Do you have any assets to protect?

Yep, I have taken the pre BK counseling and am set up to do the post later on. I did go away from attorney's office armed with a little more knowledge and I got the Nolo book on how to file and I've read it completely, so I think I'm good.

[laurannm]

I agree with Cali. Having an attorney is definitely the best choice. The only way we would have considered pro se would have been if we were a simple, no asset, below-median case. Even then I would have thought long and hard before tackling BK by myself

[Cali]

I wish my attorney would have only wanted 1500.

I was very happy that I retained an attorney instead of me having to do all the work and worry about things.

I really think if you are serious about filing yourself, you will need to study all you can and make sure everything is done the proper way.

Good Luck!

[keepmine]

First things first. Have you done the Credit Counseling and made arrangements for the Debt Management course required before discharge?
Do you have any assets to protect?