Legal Question in Business Law in New York

Re: Bankruptcy question

As the initial responding attorney, Ms. DeLain has already explained, the federal bankrutcy courts' websites are might be helpful. The federal bankruptcy courts' websites include the downloadable forms required to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and also downloadable instructions for filling out each of these forms.

You may want to seach the LawGuru Bookstore link on this website for books and manuals which may povide instruction for "do it yourself"

non-lawyers to file for bankrupcy on their own.

Nolo Press,(which has an Internet website from which you can order thier books), perhaps the original publisher, certainly among the oldest and most prolific publishers of "do it yourself law" manuals marketed to non-lawyers who are doing their own legal work, publish a book on filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy without lawyers and this book has been updated for the fairly recent changes in bankruptcy law.

Ms. Delain also noted that there are non-lawyer bankruptcy preparers (independent paralegals). The largest of these non-lawyer operations, a franchise with multiple franchises in multiple states, (which MAY OR MAY NOT say that they are more trustworthy and/or more competent than their competitoerzs) is "We the People". "We The People" has a website, and they sell thereon, a book on how to prepare your own bankruptcy, however I THINK that the writer is NOT a lawyer (I am NOT sure), whereas i think that most, or all writers of Nolo press books are lawyers.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ABOVE IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT OR GUARANTEE of Nolo Press and is NOT an ENDORSEMENT NOR GUARANTEE of the books or services provided by "We The People", merely a discussion of alternatives given that you cannot hire an experienced bankruptcy lawyer which would be the best option.

I think that this website, LawGuru also offers some document preparation services although I don't know if they offer bankruptcy preparation.

If you have questions about the above, you can contact me by trelephone voicemail or by e-mail as listed in my LawGuru Attorney Profile.

Re: Bankruptcy question

Whoa! WAY too broad a question. You're asking for a year's course in bankruptcy law.

If you cannot wait for Legal Aid to help you (and yes, they can be frustrating; you absolutely do need to call them on the day(s) and time(s) they specify), there are non-attorneys around who can help with preparing a bankruptcy. These folks don't work for free (and neither do most attorneys, which is why I have pointed out that you won't have much luck finding a pro bono lawyer on this board). A non-attorney bankruptcy petition preparer will charge significantly less than most attorneys do; however, as non-attorneys, they cannot represent you in court (or before the Trustee).

You can, if you really want to, go it alone; pro se petitions are allowed but definitely are not recommended, and people who go it alone tend to get themselves screwed by the system, especially under the 2005 Act, just through inexperience. You should visit the website of the bankruptcy court that handles cases in your geographical area; they have a plethora of good information.

Good luck.

THE INFORMATION PRESENTED HERE IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND IS NOT INTENDED, NOR SHOULD IT BE CONSTRUED, AS LEGAL ADVICE. THIS POSTING DOES NOT CREATE ANY ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN US. FOR SPECIFIC ADVICE ABOUT YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION, CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY.