When one is thinking about declaring personal bankruptcy, the thought of doing all that paperwork seems tedious and makes one more worried. While one is hard up, affording a bankruptcy lawyer becomes a bit difficult and filling it up yourself carries a risk of mistakes on your part. A third alternative that has come up is taking the help of a bankruptcy petition preparer. A bankruptcy petition preparer is a person, other than an attorney for the debtor or an employee of such employee under the direct supervision of such attorney, who prepares for compensation a document for filing. (Section 110a of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code). A bankruptcy petition preparer is also known as a "typing service" or "paralegal". It is important to note down that bankruptcy petition preparers are not lawyers and hence cannot give you any legal advice.
Role of a Bankruptcy Petition Preparer
- His first and the foremost job is to provide you with a notice that he is not an attorney and cannot advise you legally. This notice has to be signed by both parties and presented in court along with your bankruptcy documents.
- They must provide you a written disclosure identifying themselves as debt relief agencies providing services under the federal bankruptcy code.
- He should not charge you an exorbitant fee. It normally is in the range of $100 to $200.
- A bankruptcy petition preparer cannot advise you whether you should or shouldn't file for bankruptcy.
- He can tell you about the different types of bankruptcy but cannot file one by convincing you.
- He cannot tell you the list of things that will be discharged if you file for bankruptcy.
- He cannot tell you which properties you would be able to keep if you declare yourself bankrupt.
- He cannot act as a representative for you in the court and neither can fill any papers on your behalf.
As I mentioned before, many people are not in a position to pay the attorneys and cannot prepare the bankruptcy forms themselves either, so bankruptcy petition preparers are highly sought after. There is no formal requirement to become a bankruptcy petition preparer. If you are interested in a career as bankruptcy petition preparer, then you can enroll yourself in a program that gives you the basic understanding of the subject. There is a lot of information available online or you can join any crash course. The National Association of Bankruptcy Petition Preparers (NABPP) provides educational assistance and training to train people aspiring to become bankruptcy petition preparers. One has to attend two online seminars which entitles you to a certification which is valid for two years. You can enroll in programs by The National Association of Virtual Bankruptcy Assistants. Established on October 1, 2007, NAVBA is one of the first nationally recognized organizations which provides training and awareness about the bankruptcy petitions. Apart from this, another way of getting yourself trained is to get a first hand training by working under an experienced bankruptcy petition preparer.
In the end we can say that a qualified, well-trained bankruptcy petition preparer can prove to be beneficial for you in case you simply want someone else to prepare forms for you. It is very important for you to be aware of the bankruptcy laws so that you can ensure that correct legal procedure is followed.
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