Ziinet bankruptcy engine

I did my own Chapter 7 using the Ziinet bankruptcy engine and am starting this thread to discuss filing in this way and to share my experiences with anyone who is interested.

I've already had my 341 meeting and my discharge should come within a month.

One observation I'll share right away is that at my 341 meeting, the problems I saw people faced with were people who had attorneys in tow. I had no attorney and did just fine. This is probably not for everyone, though, but if you are thinking about doing it yourself, I'm happy to share my experience.

Best regards, LariAnn

Is all they claim really true? Can you really file and it not show up on your credit? I've been thinking about using Ziinet, but some things sound too good to be true. Please let me know if you had any "negative" suprises. Thanks!!!

[nailtech]

well i'm courous as to what problems the people had who had lawyers?? I'm asking cause I have a lawyer... and i'm not real good with surprizes...

Originally posted by Capt Kirk
Is all they claim really true? Can you really file and it not show up on your credit? I've been thinking about using Ziinet, but some things sound too good to be true. Please let me know if you had any "negative" suprises. Thanks!!!

Yes, there is a way to do all they say you can do, but there is no "magic" involved. It is all in knowing what the law requires and what it does not. Many experienced bankruptcy lawyers may know of some or all of the techniques, but it is not because they are some kind of top secret thing, but because the information is not widely published.

Technically, you could learn most of the tricks from studying the bankruptcy law itself, if you paid careful attention to the wording and the implications. I imagine that most attorneys would not use the techniques for all their clients; only for "favored" ones.

What is too good to be true is that there is no way to circumvent the law. You must always follow the law; if you don't, you could lose all your assets and still have all your debt, a nightmare if ever I saw one!

The only surprise I found was that the amount of information, while extensive, was nowhere near the vast amount I imagined when I first signed up. But remember you are not paying for the "secret" information, you are paying for the use of the engine only.

Hope this helps, LariAnn

Originally posted by nailtech
well i'm courous as to what problems the people had who had lawyers?? I'm asking cause I have a lawyer... and i'm not real good with surprizes...

You'd be amazed . . several people had not listed jewelry on their asset schedules, yet showed up wearing plenty of it! Their attorneys didn't even have to presence of mind to tell them, at least, to remove the jewelry before going to the meeting! After all, the attorney filled out their paperwork, didn't they? I imagine these same people wore jewelry to their attorney meetings as well, and the attorney didn't notice it or ask about it!

One person had a business and he had never filed a tax return for the business. Again, the attorney was clueless; seems common sense to me that you file a tax return, and an attorney should know that, shouldn't they? The debtor was in a pickle and the attorney was powerless to help. That deficiency might cause quite a delay in that debtor's proceeding.

Another couple had sold a home after filing, and didn't include any info about it via amendment to the filing, or with other documents which the trustee requests. Their attorney was no help there either. I would expect an experienced attorney to quiz me at least as rigorously as the trustee would, so as to root out possible difficulties before the 341 meeting.

Bottom line is, even if you have an attorney, it is still your responsibility to know what is going on. You have no guarantee that you won't be left twisting in the breeze (and the attorney is not likely to give you any kind of refund either) over something either you or your attorney failed to resolve or look into. Remember, you are the boss and the one responsible, whether or not you have an attorney.

Just my experience, LariAnn

P.S. I did try to get an attorney, but when they found out I had filled out my own paperwork, they didin't want to have anything to do with me. Foolish me, I thought I needed an attorney for legal counsel, not for doing clerical work!

[Broken]

Originally posted by lariann


But remember you are not paying for the "secret" information, you are paying for the use of the engine only.

Hope this helps, LariAnn

I just asked about this very thing in a thread I started a few days ago. How much did it end up costing you to use the ziinet process? When you say, "You're not paying for the secret information..." what are you paying for? I was under the impression that you were in fact getting all of these secrets. Can you straighten me out a little? I am pretty close to filing, and I'd like to use this if it works! Thanks!

In response to your query, what you are paying for with Ziinet is access to the online Engine, with which you can complete your BK paperwork very professionally. The user does not have to be familiar with the law in a particular state, as the engine takes care of that (I would still get the Nolo book to become familiar with the applicable laws, however).

The "bonuses" offered with paid access to the Engine (2 months worth) is access fo the "secrets", a directory of bankruptcy courts, and information about dealing with creditor harassment.

The terms of service of Ziinet make it clear that users are not paying for the "bonuses", and no guarantee extends to the usage of the information in the "bonuses". This is not really a problem unless someone is only looking for "secrets", in which case they are better off continuing their research. If a person is looking for an (almost) foolproof way to complete your paperwork online, then Ziinet is it.

If you have ever used TaxAct or TurboTax to complete your tax return online, then you have an idea of how Ziinet can help you in completing your filing.

As far as price goes, that depends upon what link you go through. All I should say is that is costs a LOT less than an attorney.

Best regards, LariAnn