My background and mission . . .
I provide low-cost bankruptcy assistance services. If you are considering filing bankruptcy but cannot afford or do not wish to be represented by an attorney, I can help. I have eight years' experience preparing bankruptcy documents for individuals and businesses who have filed for protection in Chapter 7, Chapter 11, and Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceedings. I have worked for numerous bankruptcy firms in the Pittsburgh area and with the U.S. Department of Justice's U.S. Trustee Program, which acts as a watchdog agency for the bankruptcy system. As a debt counselor, I have helped individuals by working out action plans to help them budget their money and by enrolling eligible individuals in debt management programs.
About my services . . .
Today's attorneys fees start around $1,000 or more to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, placing even more of a financial burden on those who most need to file for bankruptcy. However, I strongly believe that it is in the individual's best interest to seek and utilize the services of a licensed and reputable attorney, despite the high costs of representation. If you decide you cannot afford an attorney, you should seek assistance from your county bar association, Neighborhood Legal Services, or a Legal Referral Service. Your county bar association or legal network can help place you with an attorney who will provide pro bono or reduced fee legal services. In addition, most attorneys offer free consultations and are required to inform you of all your options before you proceed with a filing under the bankruptcy code. It is imperative that you fully understand your options, the processes and procedures, and the consequences of filing a bankruptcy. If, after pursuing these options, you decide to file pro se (without legal representation), you should be aware that the filing processes and procedures can be confusing and complex, and that you are doing so at your own risk.
If you seek the assistance of a bankruptcy petition preparer, you must understand that you are responsible for ensuring that all of the information disclosed in your documents is accurate and truthful; it is not the preparer's responsibility. Your bankruptcy petition preparer is permitted to provide you with "reasonably sufficient information" on how to properly report and calculate the information requested by the court in your filing documents, and may type up the information (that you provide) in the forms for you.
A knowledgeable bankruptcy petition preparer will help walk you through the process. While he or she cannot give legal advice, the preparer can help the pro se filer make the process of preparing the lengthy paperwork less burdensome and less stressful. I offer personalized document preparation as well as case monitoring services from the beginning to end of your bankruptcy case to help ensure that your document filing deadlines are met.
Please note that a bankruptcy petition preparer is not an attorney and cannot give legal advice.