What is the name of your state?tired
As I seek help in another post, I thought I would offer some help of my own:
The filing deadline (at least here in CA and I'm sure everywhere else) for bk's is Oct. 14 (I'm told this by a lawyer). Apparently petitions can't be filed on Monday, the 17th, as that is the day the new laws take effect. So, petitions must be filed by Friday, the 14th. (If I am wrong here, please someone speak up).
I couldn't afford an attorney to do my bk, they wanted 2K up front. The first one, made me feel like I was being pushed through a mill, with no regard to my personal situation. The second guy, well, he said right up front 2K due, no chance of installment payments, and his pitch was to scare me with all the dire consequences of not hiring him. He did scare me, by the way. I am scared scared scared like so many out there, but as one person once told me about difficult things: it's like a river, if you want to get to the other side, you gotta swim through it.
Regardless, I couldn't go to anyone to borrow this money for the lawyers, so I did contract with a company called Bridgeport.com. It cost $150, which is apparently the most any bk preparation service can charge (by law). They have an exhaustive website promising many many things. What I have come to find out, is that basically someone with computer savvy created a database with fields you fill in, that are taken directly from the federal forms you can get online for free (and the federal forms come with instructions, bridgeport doesn't). So, I did pay and will use bridgeport, all the time going back to the us gov website for federal forms to follow the instructions.
My advice to anyone thinking of using an online form is this: if your situation is simple, you have all your records, and you don't need much help in defining terms or what qualifies as what, do it yourself. Many on this board have recommended Nolo book and forms, but for me at least it is too late as I must file early this week to make it in under the old laws.
If you can afford an attorney, ask about money back guarantees (doubtful though), representation for adversarial proceedings, preparation of motions for anything that arises from your petition that you don't initially anticipate, and ask if they will accept installment payments if their fees are huge. As I've found out, many lawyers purchase some pricey software to prepare their forms (upward of $1000 for the software they use), or they contract paralegal services to prepare the forms for them. I am not trying to cast bad light on the attorneys, they have their place, they are getting paid for what they do, and they should give you good service.
When I went to a consult with the attorney who wanted 2K upfront, he gave me a packet to fill out, and when I asked what he would do with that info, he told me he takes it and types it in directly into the court required forms. While I had his packet in my hand, I asked to see the court forms, and he said "oh, they are on our computer", which apparently meant it was too much trouble to print out or at least bring me to the computer and show me.
If you are going to use an online service that is not attorney-based, like bridgeport, you will not get legal advice, regardless of what their website promotes. You will get replies to almost every email you send, but don't expect that every reply will give you the answers you seek.
Caveat emptor whatever you do, good luck to all of us trying to figure this out.
As I seek help in another post, I thought I would offer some help of my own:
The filing deadline (at least here in CA and I'm sure everywhere else) for bk's is Oct. 14 (I'm told this by a lawyer). Apparently petitions can't be filed on Monday, the 17th, as that is the day the new laws take effect. So, petitions must be filed by Friday, the 14th. (If I am wrong here, please someone speak up).
I couldn't afford an attorney to do my bk, they wanted 2K up front. The first one, made me feel like I was being pushed through a mill, with no regard to my personal situation. The second guy, well, he said right up front 2K due, no chance of installment payments, and his pitch was to scare me with all the dire consequences of not hiring him. He did scare me, by the way. I am scared scared scared like so many out there, but as one person once told me about difficult things: it's like a river, if you want to get to the other side, you gotta swim through it.
Regardless, I couldn't go to anyone to borrow this money for the lawyers, so I did contract with a company called Bridgeport.com. It cost $150, which is apparently the most any bk preparation service can charge (by law). They have an exhaustive website promising many many things. What I have come to find out, is that basically someone with computer savvy created a database with fields you fill in, that are taken directly from the federal forms you can get online for free (and the federal forms come with instructions, bridgeport doesn't). So, I did pay and will use bridgeport, all the time going back to the us gov website for federal forms to follow the instructions.
My advice to anyone thinking of using an online form is this: if your situation is simple, you have all your records, and you don't need much help in defining terms or what qualifies as what, do it yourself. Many on this board have recommended Nolo book and forms, but for me at least it is too late as I must file early this week to make it in under the old laws.
If you can afford an attorney, ask about money back guarantees (doubtful though), representation for adversarial proceedings, preparation of motions for anything that arises from your petition that you don't initially anticipate, and ask if they will accept installment payments if their fees are huge. As I've found out, many lawyers purchase some pricey software to prepare their forms (upward of $1000 for the software they use), or they contract paralegal services to prepare the forms for them. I am not trying to cast bad light on the attorneys, they have their place, they are getting paid for what they do, and they should give you good service.
When I went to a consult with the attorney who wanted 2K upfront, he gave me a packet to fill out, and when I asked what he would do with that info, he told me he takes it and types it in directly into the court required forms. While I had his packet in my hand, I asked to see the court forms, and he said "oh, they are on our computer", which apparently meant it was too much trouble to print out or at least bring me to the computer and show me.
If you are going to use an online service that is not attorney-based, like bridgeport, you will not get legal advice, regardless of what their website promotes. You will get replies to almost every email you send, but don't expect that every reply will give you the answers you seek.
Caveat emptor whatever you do, good luck to all of us trying to figure this out.