Online Bankruptcy Software / Forms????

[GoingDown]

I did not use any of the "software solution" things, and I also filed BK13 in the Northern District of Georgia. The court's website has a link to all of the forms needed to file, you can fill them out and print, *and* there is a list, under the link to the Clerk, of all the documents needed to file. The forms are all listed complete with instructions, and if you have the intestinal fortitude to do this pro se, you also probably have the ability to use Excel to do addition, and can get all the stuff filled out correctly, with a littl ehelp from the instructions as well as the inhabitants of this little corner of the web. I would guess that if the trustee asks you something out of the ordinary, the answer "the software put it there" is not going to be a satisfactory answer. If you go through the instructions, and fill out everything yoruself, you will *know* why you put things where you did, and probably have an easier trip through the system than if you "let your fingers do the walking" as it were. Just my 2 cents, keep the change.

John

This makes a lot of sense. If you're going to do it yourself, you might as well keep it as cheap as possible, and if you read this forum enough, and get a good understanding of what needs to go where on the forms and why it goes there, you will be ready to answer any questions they throw at you.

If you're going to spend $900 on forms, you might as well hire an attorney to do it for you.

My BK is going to be very straight forward and easy, with no assets, and all of the debts are going to be so old that I don't expect any objections from creditors. I'm going to keep it as cheap as I possibly can.

[FishersMike]

If I were to file Pro Se this is what I would do:

I would download the DEMO version of Best Case -- I have used it and it is good (as my Attorney also uses, as most do I hear) - it is fully functional the only drawback is when you print it shows DEMO on it. I would print the forms and then go to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court's website and get the blank forms that you fill out and just type in the same info line by line. A little more time consuming? Absolutely! But you are using the best program for free essentially.

[justbroke]

The disclaimer for Best Case and bankruptcy software in general:

Even with Best Case, you can make serious mistakes. The software is only as good as the data that is input into it, and the person inputting the data. Unfortunately, many attorney offices -- and paralegals in those offices -- have made mistakes even using Best Case.

Best Case is not going to answer all the questions that you have. It is not in an "interview" format -- like some tax preparation software. If you input a bad number, you'll get bad results. If you don't know what form to fill out, it won't fill it out for you. If you input a bad statute, it won't tell you.

It is, however, very fancy tabulation software that allows you to organize a bankruptcy case.

[gman]

If I were to file Pro Se this is what I would do:

I would download the DEMO version of Best Case -- I have used it and it is good (as my Attorney also uses, as most do I hear) - it is fully functional the only drawback is when you print it shows DEMO on it. I would print the forms and then go to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court's website and get the blank forms that you fill out and just type in the same info line by line. A little more time consuming? Absolutely! But you are using the best program for free essentially.

This is a great idea for those people who have an inherent need to run multiple scenarios. This was my situation as I had lost my job and had variable income in the 6 months prior to filing. Using software like this helped me understand WHEN I was most likely going to pass the Means Test.

I ended up using BEST CASE for awhile and then stumbled across their competitor, E-Z Filing. I downloaded a FREE DEMO version of their software as well and ended up using it instead, but both are good.

Unless you are under the median and a open and shut case, this kind of software is priceless - and you can't beat FREE when you are BROKE!

One thing to remember, though you actually CAN print out your filing paperwork from these FREE versions - you cannot FILE the paperwork if you are going PRO SE (like me) because it has the inkmark of DEMO COPY in the background.

It did help wonders though when discussing my case with different attorneys. I could run and show them scenarios on the spot faster than they could!