Expert: Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney - 12/14/2007

Question
QUESTION: I filed bankruptcy with a do it yourself kit online, thus no attorney representation.  I went before the trustee today and he asked me the standard questions, then said if I owned a car, but didn't list it as exempt.  (I had just paid it off, and forgot to list it.)  He also said I made too much money on my means test and could only do chapter 13.  (I thought I was supposed to go meager on the budget, not heavy.)  So he says I need to do an amendment within two weeks.  I can easily add the car on the exempt schedule, but the problem is the means test.  Do I just redo it on new forms and file with the amendment?  Or should I go to an attorney for professional advice?  I (think) I can easily remedy the situation, but want to error on the side of caution.  Do I only get one chance at the amendment process?  Say if I incorrectly fill out the amendment, then what could happen?  Sigh.  Thank you for your time.

ANSWER: Without a doubt you should hire an attorney immediately.  There are way more issues here than merely amending schedules.  If not handled properly you could be facing a denial of discharge or even possibly prosecution for bankruptcy fraud (I'm not saying that's what you did, but what could happen).

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well, just to complicate a portion of that situation, I realize I did claim my car as exempt, but he missed it (it was on page two.)  Do I still need to see an attorney about the means test issue?

Answer
If you don't use an attorney, you risk having problems.  Bankruptcy is a very complicated, specialized area of law.  Other non-bankruptcy attorneys won't even touch it, so how can I advise someone who's not an attorney to represent themselves in it?  There are conceivably other problems that the Trustee hasn't even noticed, but which the US Trustee (US Dept. of Justice) may pick up on and you could also end up getting audited and be in a horrible position if things don't match up.