Should I Use a Bankruptcy Petition Preparer?

Bankruptcy petition preparers are non-lawyer services that prepare bankruptcy forms for you for a fee. These preparers do not work for lawyers and are not lawyers themselves. They usually use bankruptcy software that allows you to input certain information to create an official form, and cannot represent you in bankruptcy court. They also cannot give you legal advice, which means they cannot inform you as to what kind of information you should include or not include.

In short, a bankruptcy petition preparer is a service that helps you handle the paperwork of a bankruptcy declaration, assuming that you know and understand the pertinent details of bankruptcy and what information you should offer.

Those who require legal advice and guidance, or have complicated issues that require an attorney's assistance, should not use a bankruptcy petition preparer. Since preparers cannot dispense legal advice, they cannot help you with your legal problems or guide you through the situation.

If you just need someone to create the forms, however, a bankruptcy petition preparer can be quite useful. They have up-to-date software and information pertaining to filing petitions and are also inexpensive when compared to most lawyers (typically charging $100-200). So, if your situation falls into this category, using a bankruptcy petition preparer could be a good move.