Using a Paralegal

The term ‘pro se’ means that you represent yourself. In this case, it refers to a debtor who filed bankruptcy with the help of a petition preparer. You might see petition preparers advertise in the Nickel Nik, or you might find them on the Internet. A petition preparer will type up your pages for you and then you file the case with the bankruptcy court on your own. The petition preparer industry is not regulated and there is no attorney overseeing your case.

In this true story, a debtor had a local internet petition preparer ‘prepare’ her bankruptcy for $99.00. I was sitting in court waiting for my client’s case to be called. We were listening to the trustee ask the debtor, we’ll call her Mary, questions about who had prepared her petition.

Mary proudly responded that she had completed the forms over the Internet. She had paid $99.00 to download the forms and fill them out. She also had been given a phone number that she used to speak with a paralegal who ‘guided’ her through the process. She stated that she had not received any legal advice. She also testified to the trustee that she had been told she was to advise she had not received any legal advice if asked.

My client leaned over to me and whispered “I’ll bet you hope no one else finds out about that site! People will be filing for just $99.00 and you will be out of business!” As I looked at my client sideways for a moment, I replied “Hold on, we’re not done yet. Listen to the trustee’s questions.”

Mary had listed three parcels of real estate. She testified to the trustee that she lived on one parcel and it had equity of $60,000, another parcel was her investment for retirement, and the other was an investment property that was rented, but the renters had gone bankrupt and everyone knows you can’t collect money from a bankrupt person, therefore, the property was non income producing and exempt. Mary had no idea what she was telling the trustee and she appeared to be very proud of her prudent investment decisions and her forward planning for retirement.

Before the end of the meeting, Mary lost all three parcels of real estate, her retirement investment had evaporated, and the trustee was going to be able to collect all the back rent from the renters at the investment property as well as sell her house where she was living --- all for the benefit of creditors.

Mary walked away from the table shell shocked. She had tried to make an argument that she would dismiss the bankruptcy, but the trustee appropriately reminded her that she could not dismiss the case and her assets would be seized. Mary nearly stumbled and fell as she attempted to leave the room. She was humiliated and her world had just been turned upside down. Had she planned her exemptions better, and known what the law allowed, Mary would not have lost her rental income property, retirement investment, or her home.

As I explained to my client’s what had just happened, they went pale with the realization that they too had been trying to save a buck by going to a petition preparer before they came to me. My client was aghast, knowing that Mary had saved a few hundred dollars, but had lost hundreds of thousands – all in the blink of an eye. My clients were suddenly much more thankful for the expense they had paid up front as the trustee entered his report of no distribution and had no questions for them at their hearing.

As I pointed out to my clients after the hearing – you get what you pay for.

Remember, you have the right to represent yourself, and you may be searching for the cheapest way out of the dilemma you are in now, but don’t make the same mistake Mary did. It is well worth your time and effort to find someone who can answer the questions and represent your interests in Court. A person who represents themselves has a fool for a client.

In todays bankruptcy environment which was made much more difficult by the passage of the Bankruptcy Abuse and Prevention Consumer Protection Act, the ramifications of having your case dismissed or mishandled can be devastating. You may not be able to file bankruptcy a second time around and get the protections that the Court grants you on the first filing. In some cases, you will not be entitled to a discharge.

It is your financial future we are talking about and this is a time when you should be looking way down the road, not back. If you make a mistake, if you try and save some money now to deal with this problem, you could be jeopardizing your entire future and your future ability to obtain credit. Remember this, one percentage point in crease in the cost of a mortgage will cost you tens of thousands of dollars in financing costs. Isn't it important to do it right the first time?

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