Bankruptcy Cost – File Chapter 7 Cheap Without a Lawyer and Make Bankruptcy Affordable

A recent internet post propagated an increasingly common myth (a blatant falsehood, many will probably say) about filing for bankruptcy, namely that debtors can no longer even file a cheap Chapter 7 bankruptcy without an attorney, much less except any type of bankruptcy. As the author of this article put it in the caption of his article reprinted on Verizon.com titled “Sorry, You Can’t File Bankruptcy Anymore Without a Lawyer.”

In these bad economic times when consumers are showing increasing sensitivity about the cost of bankruptcy, this is a common notion, or at least a close variation of it, that one is hearing more and more among leading bankruptcy law professionals. in this days. There is apparently a growing feeling among bankruptcy attorneys, and the growing army of unemployed Americans who inquire about the bankruptcy process, that only by filing bankruptcy without an attorney would a debtor be able to file for cheap Chapter 7 bankruptcy. . Generally, the bankruptcy lawyers’ argument about the debtor’s supposed inability to declare bankruptcy without a lawyer, is made along the same lines argued by the writer in the article mentioned above, namely that since the new ” bankruptcy reform” or BAPCPA law implemented in October 2005, “the climate has changed dramatically” regarding the law and procedures for filing for bankruptcy, and they have now become so “complex” that it is almost too difficult, if not impossible, for a debtor to file chapter 7 bankruptcy without an attorney. Or for him or her to file Chapter 13, or any type of bankruptcy.

BUT IS THE NEW LAW REALLY THAT COMPLEX?

However, this opinion could not be more false or wrong. In fact, nothing, absolutely NOTHING, could be further from the truth in all of the current administration of the bankruptcy system! In reality, what is truly TRUE is that objective experts and knowledgeable individuals from all spectrums of the bankruptcy industry, including attorneys, court trustees, and judges, who specialize in bankruptcy, know widely that most personal bankruptcies are really simple. So much so, in fact, they say, that such work doesn’t really need the services of a lawyer to handle it, as they are usually very elementary and largely administrative in nature, and are usually easy and simple to perform. Most of these experts say that, at least with respect to Chapter 7, if not Chapter 13, debtors can easily file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy without an attorney.

They typically cite two basic reasons on which they base their claim for saying this: (1) that an overwhelming majority of personal bankruptcy cases are so-called “no assets” or “minimal assets” cases, that is, cases where debtors literally have and own absolutely NOTHING for creditors to claim or garnish, let alone money to pay the high attorney fees, and therefore have no basis for hiring attorneys as they have no decent property or assets for a lawyer to protect them from creditors if they filed for bankruptcy; and (2) the FACT that bankruptcy, they say (contrary to the common layman’s belief that bankruptcy is a complicated proceeding), is actually a relatively simple matter often involving mere routine filing of simple forms and filing with the local bankruptcy court. .

Janice Kosel, Professor of law at Golden State University, San Francisco, and a well-known author and expert on personal bankruptcy issues, explains:

“Do you need an attorney to file a Chapter 13 (bankruptcy) repayment plan? No. [Even] Filing a Chapter 13 plan is often easier than preparing your tax return. If you can do that, you can probably handle your… [bankruptcy] yourself… There is no requirement (under the law) that you have to have an attorney (in order to file bankruptcy)… You may choose to represent yourself.”

Stephen Elias, The California attorney, noted author, and bankruptcy law specialist recently summed it up this way:

“There is rarely a good reason to use an attorney in a consumer Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. The proceedings are almost exclusively administrative, meaning there is no appearance before a judge… The forms are all (with very few exceptions) ) pre-printed in plain English…[But, in spite of that fact]What’s tragic is that people actually think they have to have legal representation. [to be able to do it].”

BUT A LARGE NUMBER OF DEBTORS HAVE ALWAYS FILE PRO SE, ALREADY, EVEN WITH THE RESTRICTIVE 2005 LAW

But, in all of this, there is probably one piece of evidence that remains the strongest proof, the clearest demonstration, and the most incontrovertible demonstration of the utter fallacy of the claim that bankruptcy is “complex” and beyond one’s capacity. of the average debtor to understand or undertake. And that’s it: THE MOOD STATS!

Independent survey studies by this writer and others, as well as bankruptcy court statistics, show that in various parts of the United States, but more particularly in urban jurisdictions such as New York, Arizona, and Los Angeles, both before and after AFTER the draconian 2005 “reform” law, a significant number of debtors who file for bankruptcy, particularly Chapter 7, still file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy without an attorney. Such debtors are known as pro se filers, that is, without the use of a lawyer! And, while their number may have been higher in the years before the BAPCPA was implemented, that number remains significantly high even today and is now gradually growing in the current condition of the national economic recession.

For example, in the Central District of California, San Fernando Valley Division, the reported proportion of debtors who filed for bankruptcy without the use of attorneys just before the 2005 law went into effect was well over 50%. , but as of June 2006 even AFTER the 2005 restrictive law went into effect, it was around 27%. (Clearly, that number should have been much higher today than it was in late 2008 and beyond, a time when a severe economic recession and high unemployment rate hit the nation!).

After the passage of the 2005 law, there was an immediate dramatic drop in the number of bankruptcy filings. But today, debtors, increasingly overburdened by their debt due to the current economic downturn and increasingly concerned about the cost of bankruptcy, are now beginning, once again, to revert to earlier ways of filing for bankruptcy. bankruptcy, which means they are doing the bankruptcy themselves without attorneys. And given the severe economic recession and high unemployment rate that has since hit the nation in late 2008, and the fact that by the end of 2008, official statistics for outright bankruptcy had once again exceeded With over 1,000,000 applicants as of 2008, clearly American debtors are once again beginning to flock to bankruptcy courts for help, attorney or no attorney, despite the obstacles and discouragements that the new 2005 law put them in the way!

HEAR FROM THIS ‘Expert’ FIRST-HAND:

“When I found myself with no other option but bankruptcy, I did what most people do: I found an attorney. Within a few weeks I became disillusioned with the attorney service I was receiving and realized that I could probably do this for my account”. wrote SANDRA D. WEISNER of Ohio, who recently filed for bankruptcy.

“After a lot of research, I finally found this book…the guide explains all the details of how to file for bankruptcy on your own…when to use an attorney and when to file on your own, step by step form guidelines… … The book is written without the “legalese” that lawyers use to confuse us and keep us in the dark, plus there are great resources for finding the necessary forms online and getting the additional information I needed to file for bankruptcy. Saved a lot of time, hassle, and money. I would recommend this guide to anyone. You can do it yourself.” This statement from SANDRA D. WEISNER, who recently filed for bankruptcy in Ohio, was made by her after she used a competent self-law manual to file for bankruptcy (quite easily and successfully, she explained), and she honestly wrote about it: for the registry, on Amazon.com.

What else is there to say, really? What more solid proof, or factual evidence that is simply beyond debate, really exists that average American debtors can, and DO, easily file a successful bankruptcy, particularly a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, without an attorney? They have already been doing it for decades. They’re already doing it right now, as we speak! And this writer (and many other objective scholars of the US bankruptcy system) KNOW that fact is too good, first hand, from a preponderance of studies!

NEED TRACKING INFORMATION?

Do you want to join the growing army of financially distressed bankruptcy filers across America today who are successfully filing cheap Chapter 7 bankruptcy without an attorney, often likely using the other “no attorney” tools and help? ” to do it? Visit this site: http://WWW.Afford-Bankruptcy.Com/proSeBankruptcyTrend.html