Identify and summarize the major, necessary forms and schedules that must be completed in a typical bankruptcy case. Describe the paralegal's role in assisting a bankruptcy client with the forms and schedules described above

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The voluntary petition is an application the debtor must fill out to be eligible for bankruptcy relief. After successfully completing an intake with the client, the paralegal should be able to prepare and select the appropriate sections of the petition. These sections include, but are not limited to:

Name Section
Nature of Debt
Filing Fee
Statistical Information: In this section, the debtor indicates whether there will be assets to distribute to the creditors.
Prior Bankruptcy Cases within Last Eight Years, and so on.

The paralegal will then spend most of his or her time helping the client complete Schedules A — J. Schedules A-J are where the debtor's assets and liabilities are documented.

The paralegal's role with assisting the client with the petition and schedules and other forms is very intense work. A very thorough intake will help make this process easier. It is during this process that the paralegal may answer any procedural questions the client may have. The paralegal must not give any legal or substantive advice to the client so as to avoid committing the unauthorized practice of law.