Do You Need an Attorney to File Bankruptcy?

Most people who are considering bankruptcy have tons of questions that range anywhere from, “will I lose my house?” to “can I keep my Victoria’s Secret credit card?” but the main question is usually “do I need an attorney to file bankruptcy?”

Obviously, there are do it yourself kits for nearly everything, and I haven’t tried any (except the one weird hair growing kit but that doesn’t count)  so I can’t really say how well they do or don’t work. There are also non-attorney time people that will help you file your bankruptcy for a small fee that may or may not work just the same. Whether you buy a kit from the internet or pay your neighbor’s brother’s best friend from high school, you’re paying for someone or something. Why then would you even consider trying it without an attorney?

Okay, so yes, the short answer is yes, you do need an attorney to file bankruptcy. If that’s the only question you had you can stop reading. Otherwise, here are my reasons:

Property - A bankruptcy attorney knows exactly what needs to be done to insure that you keep the property that you would like to keep. If you’re planning on keeping your home, for example, do you really want to take a chance on you, who has never filed a bankruptcy before and a $20 do it yourself kit?

Protection - If you file yourself or go through a non attorney, there is no one overseeing the work. (Unless you count whichever higher being you believe in.) With a bankruptcy attorney, you do have the Bar Association that the attorney would need to answer to if something were to get wonky with your case.

Assistance With Documentation - Attorneys and their staff generally prepare all of the documentation necessary for filing your bankruptcy. Non attorneys and random people like court clerks are usually not supposed to advise you on how to fill out or prepare your documents.

Attorneys Are Not Necessarily More Expensive - If you’re thinking of taking another route just because you imagine huge attorney’s fees that replace the debt relief you gain from bankruptcy, you may be interested in the fact that most non attorneys may cost just as much. Unless you can get a waiver because of your finances, you will most often have to pay at least the filing fee, which is currently around $299.00. There are also attorneys that will assist and file bankruptcies pro bono if you check with a Legal Aid office or Legal Assistance in your area.

I guess the bottom line is that if you want a little reassurance and confidence in retaining your rights and property, I would go with an attorney. Filing bankruptcy can be intimidating and stressful. Make sure you have someone in your corner to pick you up and help alleviate it a little.