Why not hire a bankruptcy petition preparer or paralegal?
There are no standards or required qualifications for bankruptcy petition preparers or paralegals. Only attorneys are permitted to give you legal advise, and only attorneys can represent you in court and design and write legal documents on your behalf. There are many bankruptcy petition preparers in the Tampa area, which very often charge higher retainers than I do. The Courts are now entering orders requiring many of them to appear in court to justify their fees, but the preparers often close under one name and open in another name and at a new address and phone number before the Court and officials can catch them. You should assume that anyone offering to file bankruptcy for you that is not an attorney is a scam artist.
