Online bankruptcy filing is only available for bankruptcy attorneys. You can order bankruptcy forms online, buy software to complete your bankruptcy forms online or hire a lawyer to fill out your bankruptcy forms online – but if you prepare your forms by yourself you cannot submit them online.

You will have to submit a specific number of copies of your petition to the court and courts vary on how you must submit a creditor matrix.

Do It Yourself – If you choose to file your bankruptcy after filling out the forms yourself, you will be responsible for learning the bankruptcy laws and finding out where you submit your bankruptcy forms. In addition you will need to acquire a list of exemptions for your state to use in order to exempt your property from being sold in a chapter 7 bankruptcy.

You will also need to represent yourself at your 341 meeting if you file pro se. While you can represent yourself, you need to make sure you know the laws in order to protect your property.

Hire An Attorney – Should you choose to hire an attorney, they will most likely look over your case, advise you on the chapter of bankruptcy that is right for you, after gathering your information they will fill out the bankruptcy petition and file it at the courthouse.

Your attorney will also accompany you to your 341 meeting. Hiring an attorney is the easiest option for saving you aggravation, but the trade off is that the cost is much higher – paying an attorney is often hard for those that are considering filing bankruptcy.