Having an attorney also helps to answer questions as you receive the various letters from the court and creditors after your "Meeting of the Creditors" court hearing.

1. Understand Your Lack of Options with Bankruptcy Law
Contemplating filing for bankruptcy is a decision that no one looks forward to making. If there was
another way, you would take it, but sometimes filing for bankruptcy is the only option. It is not an
easy decision, nor is it one that should be taken lightly. You have talked to attorneys and found out
their fees. You are already struggling financially; you are debating about filing for bankruptcy on
your own, and save your self the attorney fees.
The new laws have made it much more difficult to file for bankruptcy without an attorney. There
are new requirements and qualifications for filing the different chapters of bankruptcy. For
example, every person that wants to file for bankruptcy must pass a means test. A means test is a
test based on all of your expenses and all of your income and this helps you know whether you
qualify to file a Chapter 7 or if you must file a Chapter 13.
If your income is greater than what the state's median is set at, then as far as the government is
concerned, you are capable of paying some of your unsecured debt. The court can also say that you
have to file a Chapter 13 if they believe that you are abusing the system by filing for a Chapter 7. In
essence, you must be approved to file for bankruptcy, especially a Chapter 7. In other words, just
because you file bankruptcy does not mean that you will be able to file bankruptcy, because it may
not be approved, which is another reason to have a bankruptcy lawyer involved and not attempt it
on your own.
This alone is reason enough to sit and talk your case over with an attorney to make sure that you
are filing for the correct bankruptcy. Have your attorney go over your income and expenses with
you to make sure that you are disclosing everything. You are asking for trouble if you don't. The
government is fine with you filing your bankruptcy yourself, but the U.S. Trustee still holds you to
the same guidelines it holds the attorneys to. You must know the law and what it requires, and if
you do not deal with bankruptcy law as a vocation 40 hours a week like a lawyer does, you may be
asking for even more trouble.
Retaining an attorney to help you go through the bankruptcy process also insures that you go to
court with all the proper paperwork, and that your documentation is in order and correct. Having
an attorney also helps to answer questions as you receive the various letters from the court and
creditors after your "Meeting of the Creditors" court hearing.
Additionally you will not be able to file bankruptcy until your have gone through credit counseling.
The credit counseling has to be done by a state approved agency, and it must be done before filing
as well as after you have filed. These are two different classes and an attorney can help you make
sure you are taking the right class at the right time. Often bankruptcy attorneys have computer
access to those mandated classes and you can take them in their office.