Well, Ive thought about it and gone back and forth alot, but finally decided that I am going to file for backruptcy to take care of my credit card debt. I dont exactly feel the best about doing it, would rather pay it off, but blah blah blah...long story..this is the best option for me to do right now. I have a few friends who have done it, and Ive called some attorneys and most have quoted about $800-1200.00 for the whole thing!!!! Ummm..okay...If I had that money just laying around, I wouldnt need to file Bankruptcy, right? :-) Anyways, I know that if you are knowledgeable, you can pretty much take care of the paperwork on your own. Has anyone done this? Does anyone know anything about this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as soon as possible.
thanks ladies...

April

Hi:

I was forced to file bankruptcy about 6 years ago due to an ugly divorce. I found this guy that did mine and he only charged me like $350.00. We was a paralegal. The reason he was cheaper was a paralegal does all the paperwork so they can charge you a lot less. Also, he let me make him payments. Of course he did not file my paperwork with the court until I had paid him all the money.

I would try and find a paralegal to do your bankruptcy instead of doing it yourself. I actually bought the bankruptcy kit and was planning on doing it myself but I recently contacted the person I used previously because my brother is filing for it right now because of a failed business, and he advised me that the laws have changed and you must have an attorney there in court with you. It costs a little more now like $500.00 plus the filing fees.

That is my suggestion.

Thanks Zackswife,
I have heard that you can use paralegals, but I thought if a d-i-y thing was cheaper i'd go that route. I think I'll check into doing it your way though :)
Thanks again,
April

Any person is allowed to represent him/herself in court in this country. You can do-it-yourself, but my recommendation would ALWAYS be to seek competent representation.

I would start by doing a bunch of internet searches on DYI Bankruptcy. I wonder if Office Depot would have the forms to fill out. They have Power of Attorney forms. Also, there are some paralegals on PTO. Let me send one a PM and see if she can help. Worth a shot!

JJT

Hey steviesangel, I myself filed for bankrupcy last December and it cost $775 and included all copies, etc (not like I got any copies of anything!!) - I opened up the phone book and called every single atty to find the cheapest one in there and told them I needed to file for bankrupcy and didnt own any real property or businesses. An independent paralegal can definitely help you fill out the forms, but cannot give you legal advice (which you dont really need anyways to file bankrupcy! :) ) and I am sure it will be way cheaper. The hardest part for me was saving up the money also. I met with the lawyer once a week and gave him a few hundred dollars until my fee was paid - we of course had to wait until the atty fee was paid off until I could file. If you wanted to do it yourself though, without any help, I would go to a law library (your local courthouse has one, or a community college/university), just to make sure that you get the correct forms/format, you will probably find that information in one of the rules of the courts and/or civil litigation/procedure book (not sure what books your state uses). Good Luck and PM me if you need any help, k! (I will be away this weekend though, just so you know! :))

Hey there,
I actually work for a lawyer and the laws have changed SO much I wouldn't recommend going in without an attorney. Seriously. I understand the bankruptcy laws and the paperwork and I wouldn't do my own. Just so you know I have represented myself on several legal issues throughout the years, and I am fairly knowledgable about family law. The attorney I work with does criminal/family/bankruptcy. I wouldn't do my own, but that's me :) :) Good luck!

Hey.. I just did bankruptcy a few months ago.. thanks to an ex crack addict boyfriend of mine who caused me alot of debt.. plus debt from getting divorced... I had a great atty in Edmonds - I can give you his name if you want... You can do a free consultation with him where he goes over everything... If you only have a credit card debt - depending on how much it is I don't know if it would be that hard to do it yourself, but there are so many laws that you have to know and filing fees adn such.. Mine cost me $900 but that was only because I had two things I was being sued for... the basic cost for me would have been $700. Let me know if you want his office info.. He is a good one.. When I went to my discharge hearing there were a couple people there who had done it on their own and the guy (can't think what he is called) that basically says..."granted" wouldn't let them do it at that time... Also, make sure you have EVERYTHING on it when you do it that way nothing comes back to bite you in the butt......

I have lots of info.. feel free to post or pm me if you want it...
Lisa

Oh! just thought of something (yes it hurt)

have you tried debt consolidation wtih Consumer Counseling?????

i did that once, many years ago. you hand over all your bills, make monthly payments, and they deal with the debtors.

JJT

JJT,
Yes, I tried the Consumer Credit Counseling thing, but my calculated pay off cost over 5 years would have been nerly $5,000.00 more than my original debt, so I cancelled my enrollment with them. I also talked to Kelli about this and she had a negative experience with them too. Believe me, if there was an option where I could responsibly pay of my debt without incurring more expenses I would do it, but I am at my wits end and have to do something to stop the stress and the constant calls from creditors.
Thanks anyway,
April

Ya know me.... I just throw out ideas and hope some of them stick!!!

LOL

JJT

steviesangel:

Bankruptcy is tempting, but be careful.

It will be a blot on your credit for ten years.

Keep in mind that when you file, ALL OF YOUR STUFF will become part of a "bankruptcy estate" and be divvied up among your creditors. Some kinds of property (varies by state) are exempt from this, like equity in a house, etc. FIND OUT ALL OF THIS BEFORE YOU FILE.

If you can, I'd try to pay off your debts, especially if you live in a place where you'll end up losing your home you've put a lot of money into.

If it's a really huge amount, and you have a limited income AND no assets, it may be a good idea, but you need to be prepared for the downside as well.

I'm an attorney, and though I don't do bankruptcy, I've dealt with it over the years.

Shoot me a PM if you want.

abner

What form of bankruptcy do you plan on filing? Make sure research everything. There are other ways to pay off your debt. There are companies out there that offer to help you pay off your bills without you having to take out a loan. I say be careful. It might be more cost efficient to pay a little more to get everything paid off versus filing bankruptcy and have to wait 10 years before you can get any credit. Fully check out all of your options before choosing bankruptcy. Pm me if you'd like I have some info.

Shona`

Hi there, although I'm in California I found a free bankruptcy seminar that I went to which helped me ...they will do it for free...it's a state service I think..You might call social services in your area and ask if they have bankruptcy help.

When I went they help you will out all the forms you need to fill out...

ocean

My bankruptcy was recently finalized...I'm THRILLED that I did it. I've been attempting to pay off that debt for so long and it was only dragging me under. As everyone had told me prior to my decision to file...it was the best thing I did.

...and my pet peeve... Please don't tell someone to not do it, unless you've done it, and had a bad experience due to it. I've yet to hear anyone say it was a bad thing that they did...I've heard nothing but rave reviews...and most wish they'd done it sooner.

I used my stepdad as my attorney...since I only had to pay the filing fees...but if he weren't around (It's a wonderful thing to have a lawyer in the family!)...I would've done it myself. I've seen DIY kits at bookstores. BUT I would consult with an attorney first...just to make sure you won't lose your car/house/anything else. Also...$800 isn't a terrible price IF it includes the filing fees...for me, my filing fees were $209. ...and with payments...$800 wouldn't be bad over, say...4 months time? You won't be paying on your debt anymore so you should have money freed up!

Let me know how it goes! :)

I'll say it again:

BE CAREFUL. Know what you're in for, and what you may lose, so you can make a smart decision.

abner

My bankruptcy was in federal court, so I don't think state variations play a role. I sprung for the lawyer just to cover my butt though. $500 plus filing fees (maybe 150), I don't remember the cost of the filing fees.
The lawyer pretty much looked it all over and represented me in court. If you have credit card debt, some cards are secured. So your average Visa and MC can't take anything back, but Sears would come over large ticket items. Shaw's (local jeweler) repoed my jewelry. Actually I surrendered it so it wasn't part of the bankruptcy.

All in all, none of the creditors reps showed up to court, so I was able to keep my stuff. The only things I had that they could come after were some car stereo equiptment, my bike and vacuum. They didn't seem to think it was worth it. My opinion. The creditors are all invited to dispute, but I'm sure they only go after the big stuff.

Good luck, if you do it on your own you only have to do the filing fees and go to court on your own. But maybe have someone help you with the paperwork, more than one set of eyes is better.

As someone who knows someone who has filed bankruptcy...if you have a simple bankruptcy without a lot of complicated items like student loans, its not a big deal.

Its going to cost about $160 to file the papers in federal bankruptcy court. You need to consider the type of bankruptcy. For example, chapter 13 filing for defaulted student loans qualifies you for getting Federal Stafford loans again.

You can make money with bankruptcy if you do it right.

MamaSheila,
Thanks for your input...all of mine is credit card debt with the exception of an amount in collections from Verizon (hmmm...sound familiar to anyone else? lol). I had actually forgotten I did this thread until I saw your response in "New posts".
So, youre saying its not that hard to do it yourself if its all "simple debt"?
PM me if you feel like going into detail.
Thanks,
April

I have a friend who did it. She found a lawyer that did not charge as much. He only needed the initial $150 for filing and then you could pay the rest in installments. Keep searching in your area-you'll find someone who can do it for cheap.

I filed earlier this year and got an attorney when we got to court there were two ladies. One whom got someone to complete her paperwork and the other one completed her own. Long story short---they were both thrown out, told to correct the papers and return. So I suggest an attorney. Mine cost $1400. Someone had gotten ahold of my ss number and gotten credit cards and charged on $95,000. This was the quickest and easiest way for me to go. Now I did have some debt on there but the most part was identity theft.

ONE