Technically speaking, once you have decided to seek debt relief through a bankruptcy petition, you are not permitted to take on any further debt. Engaging an attorney to help you through the bankruptcy process will incur further debts. Of course, when undertaking any action through the court system, we are entitled to counsel, so bankruptcy law has a process that allows this one extra debt.
Engaging an attorney to help you through the bankruptcy process then becomes a two-stage process. You engage an attorney to help you prepare and file your petition along with all the necessary documents. One form that you will also need to include is a formal request to engage a professional to advise you through the process itself. This is really a formality, but it does put on record that the bankruptcy court has given the debtor formal permission to take on expenses outside the normal day-to-day living expenses.
The debtor can continue to use the attorney who helped to lodge the petition, or they can take on a new attorney. Because it is a two-stage process, the original attorney’s job is done once the petition has been filed. Most debtors continue to use this attorney, but in some situations, particularly if there are tricky components of their petition that require specialist help, a new attorney will be engaged.
This is one of the formal processes that most do-it-yourself petitioners forget about when finally deciding they need legal assistance. They proceed to engage an attorney before seeking the permission of the court, and while it may be a formality, it can lead to difficulties if the process is not done correctly. Creditors may have an opening to challenge the whole bankruptcy process if you fail to follow the legal protocol. If you are doing it yourself, and you decide you need legal assistance, check with your trustee first as they have technical control over your finances.
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