With the current recession continuing with no end in sight, self-surgery is a growing, albeit a misguided trend. In 2009 a California woman thought it might be a good idea to try self-plastic surgery on her face.
“Insane, I can’t believe I did what I did,” the 54-year-old said. “I thought I was going to be happy with the results, then the next day, my face became very inflamed, very red, swollen.”
The resulting problem required several operations by a professional plastic surgeon to successfully correct the problem.
It does not make much sense to do a procedure yourself to save a few bucks and then have to pay to have multiple procedures done by someone who knows how it is done to fix your problem.
However, as a Bankruptcy Attorney I see that same thing happening over and over again by misguided people who think that bankruptcy is simply just filling in some forms and then ending up with no debt.
I have seen many self-filers’ cases dismissed for simply not filing the necessary forms, or for not meeting the necessary pre filing requirements. To get the discharge these self-filers desire, they must then file a second case. But, the bankruptcy code imposes more restrictive requirements on multiple filers.
A dismissal of the case and then filing a second or third case may be a minor problem if the paperwork in your first case is not completed correctly. I have seen self-filers, and even some debtors who went to an attorney not familiar with the bankruptcy laws, lose their cars, their homes and even their life savings, all to save a few bucks.
I am sure that many of the self-filers felt that they just had a “simple case”
But bankruptcy is much more than filling out forms. This is what bankruptcy petition preparers do, but they are not trained in substantive bankruptcy law and legally can not give you any advice on how the form is to be completed. A trained bankruptcy attorney can analyze your situation and determine the correct course to take. Is bankruptcy even an option and if so, what chapter should you file under, and then when should you file? These questions along with many others are all part of the service that a trained bankruptcy attorney will provide to you.
If you are thinking about bankruptcy, you need to treat this as a very serious situation (which it is) and not go around town shopping for the cheapest lawyer in town or just go online to order some bankruptcy forms. You are trying to get out of debt, not buy a toaster. I offer a free, no obligation consultation. I will analyze your situation and let you know what I can do to help. This consultation will cost you nothing but an hour of your time to meet with me. You will get your questions answered, including what it will cost to file. You would not want to operate on your self, so treat your financial situation the same way. Please make sure you really think about going at it alone, as it may cost you much more than you save.