Review of “The Complete Chapter 7 Personal Bankruptcy Guide”
In my practice, I regularly speak to individuals who are facing a financial crises severe enough to prompt that person to pick up the phone or to compose an e-mail to a bankruptcy lawyer they do not know. While I am thankful for client referrals, in truth, most people do not go to cocktail parties and talk about how great their bankruptcy lawyer was. Instead, most of my clients find me on the Internet and they call me or e-mail me after reading my blog or one of my web sites.
Not surprisingly, a common refrain I hear is “I never in a million years thought I would ever be talking to a bankruptcy lawyer.” I understand this sentiment fully.
The next question I get has to do with fees. “If I have no money, how am I supposed to pay for a lawyer?” You are legally entitled to prepare and file your own case without a lawyer, although I do not recommend doing so. Even simple bankruptcy cases require a lot of work by a lawyer and a person with what appears to be a straightforward case may be tempted to proceed pro se (without an attorney).
Is there a good resource out there for the Chapter 7 debtor who wants to proceed pro se? My answer is “kind of.” Sphinx Publishing recently sent me a copy of The Complete Chapter 7 Personal Bankruptcy Guide and asked me what I thought. Here is my take.
The Complete Chapter 7 Personal Bankruptcy Guide is by an attorney named Edward Haman, who has practiced in several states, including Florida, Hawaii, California and Michigan. He is a prolific writer and has produced a number of “do it yourself” guides for the Sphinx Publishing Company. The Complete Chapter 7 Guide comes in a softcover format and with pages measuring 8”x10”. The book consists of 254 pages, although only 114 of these pages contain substantive information - the remaining 140 pages are appendices - containing copies of the exemption statutes for every state and a copy of a sample bankruptcy petition. At Amazon, the book sells for less than $13.00, which I think is a fair price.
I question why the publisher did not choose to supply the exemptions as an on-line link. Exemption rules do change from time to time, meaning that the book could go out of date and the pro se debtor would not know. An exemption link could also be used to enhance the publisher’s Internet presence, but that is another story.
I think that there is some utility in providing a copy of a sample petition - I think it is helpful to have a printed guide in front of you - although this could have been provided online as well.
In any case, you are getting just over 100 pages of information for your $13.00.
The first 41 pages offer useful information about preparing to file for bankruptcy. A preface explains to readers that they need to be careful about using a “do it yourself” legal guide because no printed guide can anticipate every situation. The first three chapters offer perspective about the nation’s bankruptcy system, how lawyers fit into the process and suggestions about how to avoid bankruptcy.
All of this information is relevant and useful, but in my mind it would discourage me from trying to prepare and file a petition on my own. The message that appears over and over - “there are a lot of rules, sometimes judges and trustees change the rules, and this book works best if you have a really simple case.”
The remainder of the substantive pages - pages 43 through 106 provide an overview of the schedules, and the case filing process.
The book touches only briefly on the “341 hearing” which is the first meeting of creditors that every debtor must attend. For a pro se debtor this is the most terrifying part of the process but it only merits one page of the Guide. Author Haman advises debtors to call their trustee prior to the hearing to ask what to bring. While this may work in smaller jurisdictions, I just don’t see a busy trustee in Chicago, Los Angeles or Atlanta stopping his day to spend 20 minutes on the phone with a pro se debtor.
After reading through the Guide, it strikes me that this book could be a useful educational tool for individuals thinking about filing bankruptcy. It presents most of the basic concepts in a clearly written, conversational tone and it is organized logically.
Many debtors, especially, better educated, middle class families will find this book helpful. The basics are covered and it might give rise to intelligent questions to a lawyer. An enterprising lawyer might buy these books in volume and give them away to prospective clients.
However, this is not a Guide that a non-lawyer could rely upon to file a pro se case. Even simple Chapter 7 cases are complicated and there are enough local rules and local procedures that too many questions would remain unanswered. When the nation’s bankruptcy laws changed in 2005, several very capable lawyers that I have known for years discontinued the practice area. If bankruptcy was too complicated for an experienced lawyer, I just don’t see how 114 pages of a “do it yourself” guide could ever provide enough information for a pro se debtor to risk his financial future in federal bankruptcy court.
More importantly, there is a tremendous risk for an individual to file pro se. Chapter 7 cases cannot be dismissed voluntarily - so if you don’t fully understand exemption law and you fail to claim your exemptions or if you have non-exempt property, you could find yourself stuck in a Chapter 7 case without the option to dismiss and a trustee’s auctioneer calling to schedule a sale date for your stuff.
Bottom line - The Complete Chapter 7 Personal Bankruptcy Guide would be a great information resource for anyone contemplating bankruptcy but it cannot and should not serve as an alternative to the services of an experienced lawyer.
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