It sounds tempting. Representing yourself in a bankruptcy case rather than hiring an attorney. You save the legal fees. You save the time involved dealing with a lawyer, meeting in the office and responding to requests for information. Plus, if they sell "do it yourself" kits in office supple stores, how hard can it be?

If you're not going to "do it yourself", why not get the cheapest lawyer around? If lawyers are advertising bankruptcy services for just a few hundred dollars, why spend more?

Readers might think it is disingenuous for me to tout the reasons why one needs a competent attorney guiding them through the bankruptcy process. They might even think it more disingenuous for me to remind them that "you get what you pay for." Over my morning coffee I happened upon an article at The Sheboygan Press that addresses this important issue. I'll let it do the talking, and you can decide for yourself.

You'll find the article here

Posted by Bill McLeod at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have written about the "ticket" into bankruptcy - as well as the "ticket out." The "ticket in" is a certificate from a US Trustee approved agency that must provide mandatory credit counseling to any debtor seeking bankruptcy protection. Under the new law, a bankruptcy debtor cannot be a "bankruptcy debtor" without that ticket.

According to the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, the new law just is not working. The credit counseling requirement, which is an extra cost to be borne by people seeking debt relief, is a "waste of money" and does little to weed out people who were trying to abuse the bankruptcy process.

You can read more about the study in the February 22 online edition of USA Today.

And you'll find NACBA's study, "Bankruptcy Reform's Impact: Where are all the Deadbeats?" here.

Posted by Bill McLeod at 9:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Freddie Mac has extended until May 31, 2006 the foreclosure suspension for property owners in counties worst affected by Hurricane Katrina. The news is not all for those affected by the storm. The extension applies only to those 21 counties and parishes that have been designated disaster areas by the federal government and where FEMA individual assistance is available.

In 34 counties, Freddie Mac must give permission to foreclose, and in the remaining 64 counties, the blanket foreclosure ban has been lifted. You can read the entire announcement from Freddie Mac here.

Posted by Bill McLeod at 5:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

On December 28 I let readers know that Congress was set to vote on a bill that would, among other things, increase filing fees.

Yesterday, by a vote of 216-214, the House passed the Budget Reconciliation Act (S. 1932). The President is expected to sign the bill within the next week or so.

The filing fee increases are set out in my December 28 blog entry, with apparently one change. Congress intended to raise Chapter 11 fees from $1,039 to $2,789. However, it appears that the Chapter 11 increases will apply only to railroad cases.

Posted by Bill McLeod at 1:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)