YES- you can do it yourself

[cat]

For those stuggling and can't afford an attorney- I just wanted to let you know that it is possible to do it yourself and just pay the filing fee.

I filed Chap-7 in Dec- and my trustee meeting is in 2 days. I even filed a request to pay in installments, which was accepted.

At first I was daunted by the paperwork, but I found that once you get into it, it really isn't that hard- you just need to be sure that you know whether you can take federal exemptions- or just State exemptions, depending on where you live.

I have a very simple case though- just credit card debt and basically no assets- other than a few stocks that aren't doing well and an old car, so if you have a house with equity and other assets, you might not want to do this.

Anyway- that's something to consider.

CAT

ps- now that I know how to do it, I'm thinking about helping others who have simple debt like mine-for a much lower fee than lawyers charge.

[amynrich]

We're planning on filing soon and figure we'll probably have to do it ourselves as well... we're complete financial idiots though... but it really wasn't that hard? Did you have anyone helping you figure out the forms? I've looked at them and can't understand a thing of what they're asking for!

[cat]

No- it wasn't terrible! I got all the forms together- then I got a copy of my credit report. I did a lot of research on the offical bankruptcy site for my state (they actually had a lot of info.)
I was stumped on a couple of things though and so I wrote down my questions and my state has an ask a lawyer night once a month, so when it was that night- I called and I asked them about the things that were stumping me.
After I talked to them though, I found out that I could have found all my answers in the revised statutes for my state.

I mean- it wasn't a piece of cake- but it wasn't impossible either, which lawyers sometimes lead to believe it is. It just takes some tenacious research into the particulars for your state and regarding your assets etc....

CAT

[Dawn1970]

Congratulations Cat. Sounds like you're doing a fine job and my hat's off to you. After seeing how utterly simple mine was (and thinking of all that $$$ I spent on an attorney who rarely answered my calls) I am thinking about doing a Ch 7 for my ex-brother-in-law, or rather, guiding him through the process and helping him with the paperwork. His would be the simplest Ch 7 on earth- no assets, no income, just a bunch of medical bills that he'll never be able to pay in this lifetime. He has nothing to garnish, so there's no urgency but the poor guy would just like to be able to answer the phone without catching hell from a collection agency. People like you inspire me!

[cat]

Thanks Dawn-
I think you can do it- Go for it.
And remember, when you have no assets, there's really nothing to lose by attempting it yourself. Make sure you fill out a request to pay in installments ( I recommend 3 installments for the filiing fee )and only include $25.00 as the first installment of that when you initially file- that way, if it gets kicked out because you did something wrong on the paperwork- you only lose $25.00, and you can resubmit.

CAT

[Dawn1970]

That's a great tip! Thank you.

[duperpooper2000]

questions

i have a simple bankruptcy i think, but my questions are as follows; my state is utah, and it is state exemtions only. i have a 1997 4runner auto worth about 8000 the state as i can see allows 2500. does this meen i have to turn over my car? my wife and i are both diabled, and live in a mobie home, thats no problem, they allow up to 20,000 and it's worth far less than that. another thing, can i hand write the forms? i have the forms, but i can't seem to find any on the net in word format, so i can ad text to every thing is in adobe, and it wont let you. thanks, rick

[cat]

As far as I know- you get a little more allowance for your vehicle if you're disabled. And since it is a 1997- it may not truly be worth $8.000.00-especially if it is only in fair cond.??

And yes, you can definitely hand write the forms.

Disclaimer- I'm not a lawyer-nor am I the host of this bb- this is only my experience and opinion.

CAT ;)