As a Phoenix Bankruptcy lawyer I know people have the question but are uncomfortable asking it so I thought I would address it here. And that question is Do I need an attorney to file bankruptcy?

No, you do not. There is so much information on the Internet you can easily prepare your own bankruptcy. There is no requirement and the court does not require that an attorney represent you.

But, here is the kicker. Should you have an attorney?

I believe absolutely yes. The reason is that we are a society of people that like to do things ourselves and there is nothing wrong with that. But where you can run into trouble by doing your own bankruptcy is not knowing all the little details.

If you are representing yourself and you attend a Meeting of Creditors you do not have that added sense of protection that you would have with an attorney at your side.

The biggest problem is when people attend their Meeting of Creditors on their own and they have prepared their own bankruptcy. A lot of individuals do not recognize the fact that they actually have to attend that hearing and then they do not appear. The end result can be that their bankruptcy is dismissed, which means their debt does not go away.

The other is if they often will not prepare the petition properly or they have assets that they could have protected but were not aware of it. Another big mistake is individuals who have too much money on hand. The bankruptcy court believes that anything over $150 is too much.

Bankruptcy attorneys plan with their clients so they can give them advice as to how they should spend their funds and what they should spend their funds on. As you know, the bankruptcy court looks back 90 days.

So when they are assisting their clients and preparing their petition with them, they should look back as well to see what is in their checking account and how they spent their funds. That way they are in the best light in front of the court. And unfortunately, clients who have prepared their own petitions do not have that advantage. They do not have that information.

So a couple of things can happen. They fail to appear at their hearing. They are unaware. As a result, their bankruptcy is dismissed and they are still stuck with their debt. Another option is the bankruptcy court can take assets that they were not aware that they could protect.

For example, a car that has possibly too much equity, maybe they have paid off the vehicle and they were not aware of the limitations. Worse yet, they were behind on their home. They filed the wrong Chapter and they were not able to protect the house.

A huge mistake also is people who have not filled out the petition properly. The court penalizes you for that, and they will charge you fees in order for you to correct it. And of course, it is on you to correct it.

So those are all the things that a Arizona bankruptcy lawyer will tend to see as a problem. People tend to list their bankruptcy improperly. They will confuse their mortgages or not put them in the proper Schedule. As a result, they may lose their home in the bankruptcy and that was not their intention.

These are the things that your attorney can look out for their clients. And ultimately, you may be paying those same fees that you were trying to avoid by not hiring a qualified attorney. Your paying more through the court by the things you have either lost or the changes that could have been made had you used a lawyer.

So it is really suggested that, if you are considering bankruptcy, go with an attorney who is experienced. Go with an attorney that has handled hundreds of bankruptcies, they have a lot of experience.

We do not suggest doing it yourself. Hire an experienced bankruptcy attorney. They are going to have the answers that you need.