Credit Help Center

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of seeing those bankruptcy lawyer advertisements that say, “Low Cost,” “Cheap Bankruptcy,” and “$100.00 Starts.”  For $100.00 dollars that lawyer will do nothing more than deposit your money into their business account. Always remember that advertising is advertising even when a lawyer does it.  We just have more rules than the rest of the marketplace.  I start with the fact that we must declare that,

“We are a debt relief agency.  We help people file under the Bankruptcy Code,”

in all our advertising because Congress said so and the Supreme Court upheld this in a recent decision.

The truth is that there are costs that you must pay when filing bankruptcy. First, you must take a pre-filing credit counseling course that costs anywhere from $5.00 to $50.00 depending upon whether you’re filing a single or joint case, or on an emergency basis.  There is also a post-filing financial management course that is required with costs in the range of $25.00 to $50.00.  Then, there is your filing fee of $299.00 for a Chapter 7 case, and $274.00 for a Chapter 13 case.  The total so far is over $300.00 and we haven’t even begun to talk about whether you’ll hire a petition preparer or an attorney. 

Remember that you can file bankruptcy without a lawyer, but I suggest that you at least get a free consultation before you go it alone, or Pro Se. You can also find important information from our local court’s website to guide you along this process; just click on “don’t have an attorney?”. 

You can hire someone to prepare your petition that is not a lawyer.  A petition preparer service has pitfalls to it because they cannot tell you how to answer the questions and what information to include in your petition. Also on the court’s website, under news and publications, you can locate a list of enjoined petition preparers that have fowled up many a debtors cases.  Be sure to do your research before you hire someone to prepare your petition for you.

If you decide to hire an attorney to represent you, be sure you meet with them personally.  Many of these low cost starting campaigns are run by law firms that mill you through the process and have you work with non-lawyer staff.  They’re a breeding ground for malpractice and you miss out on having an attorney review your entire financial situation to partner with you toward your strategic goal of financial freedom from your debts.  You need a partner, not another creditor. 

Caveat Emptor~~Buyer Beware!

Similar Posts:

• Filing Bankruptcy Online : For a Smoother Bankruptcy Process
• A Chapter 7 Lawyer Will Guide You Through Your Bankruptcy
• You Must Take a Court Approved Credit Counseling Course BEFORE Filing Bankruptcy
• The Types of Personal Bankruptcy
• Is It Wise to Declare Bankruptcy to Get Out of Debt?