Filing a Pro Se Bankruptcy
We’ve become a do-it-yourself society that feels that they don’t need the expertise of professionals. But just like the image of dad creating a watery mess when he tries to fix the kitchen sink, trying to file your own bankruptcy case can be a legal and financial nightmare. As the old saying goes, “The man who represents himself, has a fool for a client.” And that’s not to say that the person who files their own bankruptcy is inherently foolish or even that they are foolish in other areas of their life. A matter of fact, if you asked a pro se bankruptcy debtor if they would try extracting their own teeth or fixing their own broken leg they would look at you as if you had lost your mind.
The problem with the logic that leads someone to represent themselves in a bankruptcy proceeding is that they foolishly believe they can handle the bankruptcy process simply because they can read and have good comprehension. The reality is that you need more than the ability to read to be able to understand the complex bankruptcy code and the scores of bankruptcy rulings that could impact your particular case. Bankruptcy attorneys have not only committed thousands of hours of study in school; but they have also committed years of their lives to fighting for the financial survival of their clients in bankruptcy court and no DIY bankruptcy self-help books can beat that.
The way that creditors and their experienced attorneys devour pro se bankruptcy debtors is just tragic, because it didn’t have to happen that way. Even if a debtor is unemployed, they can find a bankruptcy attorney who is willing to work with them and take on their case. No bankruptcy debtor should take the chance that their ignorance of the bankruptcy law could destroy their financial future by trying to represent themselves.