No, not at all. While a big part of what a bankruptcy lawyer does for you is prepare your paperwork, it goes much further than that. In a nutshell, a petition preparation service functions as a “typing service” of sorts. You provide them with the details on your case, and they complete the forms.
An attorney does the same thing, but can also advise you of your options along the way, and also represents you at the bankruptcy hearing.
The Main Difference
The key difference between an attorney and a petition preparer is that only an attorney licensed to practice in your state can give you any advice about how to proceed with a bankruptcy. This includes everything from determining if you should file at all, to what type of bankruptcy is best, how you can protect your assets, how to get the largest amount of debt discharged and how to proceed with rebuilding your credit and your financial once your case is complete.
Which is Right for Me?
Depending on your case, the complexity of your debts and assets and the potential for loss of property, you may or may not need an attorney to take care of it for you. If yours is a simple case, then you should be able to handle it on your own. Honestly, there isn’t much value in using a preparation service. You could save yourself the money and complete the forms yourself in a few hours.
You would want to get up to speed on how the process works obviously, but you can do that with one of Nolo’s do-it-yourself books on bankruptcy.
If you get into the process and realize it’s more complicated than you are comfortable with, you could call an attorney at that point. At least you haven’t lost hundreds of dollars, and you will also be better prepared to ask the right questions to potential attorneys, having thoroughly researched the process yourself.
Risk vs. Savings
Using a petition prepared can be tempting simply because they are much less expensive than hiring an attorney. However, you need to understand what they can and cannot do. You will still be handling the case on your own, and you may make mistakes along the way that can cost you later.
If you’re uncertain about what to do, download the bankruptcy forms from the US Court website (find them here), go through them carefully, research everything you don’t understand and consider getting one of the above referenced books from Nolo which will walk you through the process.
Once you understand the process a little more and learn the potential pitfalls, you can make an educated decision on how you should proceed.
To get started, read this guide to bankruptcy. It’s a great, thorough introduction to bankruptcy that can help you get up to speed.
Even though petition preparers can't legally give advice, they often do. Some are better than others. If you use one, try to be very selective and talk to a few to help find out how good they really are.
ReplyDelete