Court Fees May Be Waived - At A Cost

There may be one reason not to have an attorney work on your bankruptcy. It's an edge-case, but just so you know, here is the lowdown. The benefit to you is that the court will waive your fee. The cost to you, however, is that you have to go it alone - no attorney!

If your income is less than 150% of the poverty level (as defined in the Bankruptcy Code), and you are unable to pay your Chapter 7 fees, the court will attempt to allow you to make payments in installments. If, however, the court determines that even in installments, you are not able to afford the fees, the court may waive the requirement that the fees be paid. This allowance only applies if you don't have an attorney.

We all know what various courts think of you going before them without an attorney. So if you are able to represent yourself in court, and navigate all the paperwork, and understand all the procedures available to you to get the most out of your bankruptcy, then you might save yourself the court fees if you qualify. After you are all finished, the amount you spend on migraine medication might be less than the court fees. Or not.

Click here to see the current court fee - U.S.C. § 1930.

Don't Let Your Case Be Delayed

The easiest way to get your case waylayed is to delay action. We understand you are busy and life goes on while you are filing. You should understand, though, that some bankruptcy documents are time-sensitive.

You must provide evidence of all earnings you received during a period of 60 days prior to your bankruptcy filing date.

Also, you must submit a certificate of credit counseling, and you need to complete your credit counceling before your case is filed. So not completing your counceling will postpone your filing date. The postponement will likely cause your earning statements to no longer reflect the 60 days prior to your filing. As a result you will have to submit more earning statements for the missing time period.

If you delay turning in say ..., your tax returns, but do submit your earnings statement, you could be in trouble. Since the law requires you to submit information about your earnings for 60 days prior to your filing date, anything which requires your filing date to be moved, will mean that a new 60 day period will be in effect. As a result of moving your filing date, your previous earning statement will become outdated.

Another way to make your earning statements outdated is to delay paying your fees. If you have fees which the office requires before your case can be filed, delays will mean that your earnings statements can become stale.

We know it's easy to get distracted, but much of your distraction is probably caused by factors which will be erased when you file for bankruptcy, so getting your documents in order on time is really an easy thing to do to get your life back on track.

Must You File Your Tax Returns?

You are going to have to. It's part of the bankruptcy law.

Your Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 case begins when our office files on your behalf a petition with the bankruptcy court which serves the county where you live. In addition to the petition, we also file with the court a schedule of assets and liabilities, a schedule of your current income and expenditures, a statement of your financial affairs, a schedule of executory contracts and unexpired leases, and tax returns.

Through our office, you will have to provide your trustee with a copy of your tax return for the current tax year as well as tax returns for future years which occur during the length your case. Also, you will have to provide tax returns for prior years that have not been filed when your case begins.

Bankruptcy Without An Attorney

It's true, you don't need an attorney to file for bankruptcy. What do you think bankruptcy courts have to say about not using an attorney? Seriously, over time they've seen what happens to people who try to do it themselves. Perodically, we meet clients who tried it themselves and then got into a big mess. Getting such situations cleared up is not easy. In our opinion, it's just not worth it to try to go to court alone.

In case we haven't convinced you, you know that your case will be dismissed if you don't abide by the bankruptcy rules. Here's an simple example, did you know that within Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure it says that

If an individual debtor in a chapter 11, 12, or 13 case has claimed an exemption under § 522(b)(3)(A) in property of the kind described in § 522(p)(1) with a value in excess of the amount set out in § 522(q)(1), the debtor shall file a statement as to whether there is any proceeding pending in which the debtor may be found guilty of a felony of a kind described in § 522(q)(1)(A) or found liable for a debt of the kind described in § 522(q)(1)(B).

[Fed. R. Bankr. P. 1007(b)(8)]

Right. Of course. Well, We know what this means and how it may apply to your case. That's our job! We protect your interests and get you through your successful bankruptcy. Don't let your case get dismissed by not hiring an experienced bankruptcy attorney.