YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO-IT-YOURSELF IF…

A VERY SIMPLE CHAPTER 7 bankruptcy case might be filed on your own.  DON’T EVEN TRY THIS IF YOU ARE FILING A CHAPTER 13 or CHAPTER 11 CASE!   However, to do so, you must be sure you can do the following:

•  Be willing to type up the papers (using a typewriter) or bankruptcy petition software that you can either purchase or find online.  Of course, a bankruptcy petition preparer can do this typing for you for a fee.

• Take the papers down to the Federal Bankruptcy Court and file them, knowing the proper order that the different documents need to be in and the proper number of copies.

• Respond to any Orders that the court enters because of missing documents or documents that need to be modified.

• Know what property is exempt and what is not.

• Know what documents need to be provided to the Trustee appointed to your case.

• Attend your own Meeting of Creditor, knowing that the Trustee’s generally hate “do-it-yourself” cases and won’t give you any advice about anything that has been done wrong.

• Do all your own research because the petition preparer cannot give you legal advice and no attorney will generally agree to take on and fix a messed up “do-it-yourself’ case.

(Don’t try to do-it-yourself if ANY of the below are true!)

•  My total gross (before taxes) annual income for my entire household is greater than $45,000.

•  If I am filing, but my spouse is not.

• I know that I’ll need a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

• I am unaware of what the property exemptions are for my state or how they are used.

• I have filed a previous bankruptcy case in the past eight (8) years.

• I owe taxes or did not file all of my tax returns in a timely fashion.

• I have operated my own business in the past year.

• I have people who owe me money.

• I have lawsuits being filed against me or have judgments that have been awarded against me.

• My bank accounts are at a bank that I owe money to.

• I am being garnished at work, or have had a bank account garnished in the last few months.

• I own stocks or bonds that are not connected with a retirement account.

• I owe past due Homeowner’s Association dues or fees.

• I am behind on my mortgage and want to keep my house.

• I am behind on my car payments and want to keep my car.

• I received a tax refund above $1,000 last year and expect to get a refund again this year.

• I owe any back child support or alimony (maintenance), or have been awarded to pay my spouse’s attorney fees or fees incurred in a child custody battle.

• I have been involved in an accident where I had been drinking or using drugs.

• I have debts that have been co-signed by another person.

• I have moved to a different state in the past two (2) years.

• I am in the process of trying to modify a mortgage.

• I own real estate (rental properties, raw land, mineral rights or timeshares) that I don’t want to lose in my bankruptcy.

• I own a car or house with significant amounts of equity (value over and above what I owe on my car or mortgage loan.

• I own luxury items such as boats, motorcycles, ATV’s, trailers, motorhomes, horses, valuable jewelry or collections.