- Author: George Haines
- Published
People on the verge of a Las Vegas bankruptcy frequently have difficulty assembling the money necessary to pay their lawyers. As a result, they find ways to cut costs, and one way of doing it—so they’re led to believe—is to hire a bankruptcy petition preparer. There are 6 reasons to avoid this route.
1. Petition preparers cannot give any kind of legal advice. Bankruptcy lawyers work more with the law-side of issues than factual ones, which tend to be the same. Thus, which chapter to file in and the benefits of those chapters are off-limits. The other big question is which exemptions debtors should claim. These are often the most crucial legal issues that petitioners need answers to.
2. Petition preparers are watched closely by bar authorities to ensure that they aren’t violating unauthorized practice of law statutes. These laws are designed to protect people from unscrupulous and incompetent representation.
3. Bankruptcy lawyers are professionals who know important information outside bankruptcy topics. Often petitioners need help with the tax implications of filing bankruptcy or its affects on their retirement income. Petition prepares do not necessarily know these things.
4. Bankruptcy lawyers are also required to honor your private information by keeping it confidential.
5. The bankruptcy code devotes a section to petition preparers, and gives debtors legal remedies if preparers make errors. [http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/uscode/11/1/110]
6. According to the U.S. Trustee’s Office (http://www.justice.gov/ust/r05/docs/general/guidelines/bank_pet_prep.pdf), petition preparers are only allowed to type documents for a reasonable fee. That is the limit of their function. A trip to the local public library and you can do this for a lot less.
There you have it. An experienced Las Vegas bankruptcy lawyer is far more valuable to your bankruptcy case than paying a typist to save money.
For more questions about bankruptcy in Las Vegas, please feel free to contact an experienced Freedom Law Firm Las Vegas bankruptcy attorney for a free initial consultation by calling 702-903-1354.
