Bankruptcy Vendor Reviews By VendorHound

Editor's Note (VendorHound) -- The passage of the new bankruptcy law is a prime example of what can happen when the government is for sale and when good people sit back and do nothing. It was billed as a reform to end abusive bankruptcy filings, but in truth, the only abusers of note are credit card companies who have pushed their special interest on the rest of us.

The passage of the harsh new laws spells out a sad period in American politics because it happened with our eyes wide open. Often times, bad laws that favor a small special interest are quietly snuck in because there is no press coverage of it, but not so with the Bankruptcy Abuse Reform Act of 2005.

It began more than 8 years ago after the Republicans consolidated their control of both houses of Congress and worked its way through the legislative process until it was vetoed by President Clinton.

It came back to life under the Bush administration which made no effort to tame it. In fact, the president had said that he would sign into law, whatever legislation was presented to him and he did just that -- signing into law a most oppressive and draconian legislation.

Now That it is The Law, What Can You Do?

Under the old laws, the paperwork was bad enough but with the added means test requirement, a simple bankruptcy is no longer simple. For one, the means test asks over 70 questions that draw on statistical resources far beyond the reach of the average person. To prepare a personal bankruptcy, you have to access the database of no less than the Census Bureau, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Health and Human Services.

You are therefore left with just two choices. Hire an expensive bankruptcy attorney or hire a Full-Service bankruptcy company. We shall talk more about these two choices but first, before you faint, one of the bankruptcy vendors profiled here has characterized the new bankruptcy law as a Paper Tiger.

In total, this editor does not agree that the new bankruptcy law is just a paper tiger. If the use of the term Paper Tiger denotes the fact that it creates a Tiger load of paperwork, then that is definitely correct.

In making that statement, we know that USA Bankruptcy Associates was referring to the fact that they can greatly simply the process such that it appears to be of no consequence. Judging by the fact that they have done more bankruptcies in the last 12 months than most other top bankruptcy preparers combined, we are inclined to believe them.

Coming back to the question as to what you should do, we very strongly recommend that you use one of the Full-Service companies that we have profiled here.

Filing Bankruptcy Comes Down This

Do you hire an attorney and really go broke? Do you risk doing it yourself with a software kit, or do you have it done professionally for you by a Full-Service company?

Which one is right for you?

Hiring an Attorney

There are certain advantages to hiring an attorney particularly if you own a business or if your case is complicated, but for the most part, attorney prepared bankruptcies are the same as Full-Service bankruptcies.

The fact is that even when you can afford to hire an attorney, he or she will never lay hands on your documents other than to sign it after their staff have prepared them.

In some ways, under the new laws, you are better off without an attorney. This is because the new laws require a professional who handles a high volume of case, such as a Full-Service company. The ones we profile here handle thousands of cases per year compared to most attorneys who handle only a hand full.

Also, the ability to afford an attorney these days can be seen as an indication that you have money stashed away and could cause the trustee to dig deeper into your finances.

Doing it Yourself By Software

The issue of Software or Full Service is quite simple. If you are an attorney or paralegal or if you have prepared bankruptcies before and only need a tool to use in preparing more bankruptcies, then software could be the right choice. On the other hand, if this is your first bankruptcy or if you are not an attorney or paralegal, the clear choice is Full Service. So it comes down to these questions. How much experience do you have preparing bankruptcy documents? Are you a paralegal or attorney or have you prepared bankruptcies before?

There are a few excellent online software solutions out there and in this category, we particularly like, Guaranteed Bankruptcy Service. In the end, it comes down to how experienced you are with the law. If you want a hassle free bankruptcy that you can afford, then a Full-Service company is the only way to go.

Hiring a Full-Service Company

Full service refers to companies that actually prepare all of your bankruptcy documents for you as opposed to assisted do-it-yourself. With these companies, you give them your information and they transform it to bankruptcy documents ready for court filing.

Without a doubt, full service bankruptcy preparation is the best way to go. No computer software can compare to having experienced professionals prepare your bankruptcy documents for you. It is quite simple. When you hire a company to prepare your documents for you, you are leveraging their experience to your benefit. They know all the things to watch out for, things that a do-it-yourself novice would not know. For example, what are the two most important things that the court looks at before granting you your discharge? A full service company is the right choice if this is your first bankruptcy and if you want  to avoid getting entangled in trustee problems because they have done it thousands of times. You will pay more for full service but in the end your peace of mind is well worth it.

And Yes. Experience is Everything.

What sets one Full Service company apart from the other? They are such factors as,

• How easy is it to give them your information?
• How long it takes to prepare?
• What other extras they offer beyond the documents?
• What do their customer say about them?

Our Reviews

We have scoured the net to bring you companies that we believe to be leaders in their categories.

• Full-Service.
• Court-ready documents. Just sign and file.
• Easy interview wizard makes for easy transmission of your information.
• Accepts unlimited number of bills.
• Documents ready in 1-day or less.
• Money-back guarantee.
• Free reaffirmation tools
• More information

• Full-Service.
• Court-ready documents. Just sign and file.
• Easy online questionnaire for sending them your information.
• Documents ready in 1 day.
• Money-back guarantee
• More Information

• Full-Service.
• Court-ready documents.
• Documents ready in under 1 day.
• Money-back guarantee.
• More Information

As the term implies, online software refers to companies who allow you to prepare your bankruptcy documents by yourself online in your browser. The software runs on the web server of the company, not on your computer. You access the software remotely from the safe distance of your browser.

We limit our bankruptcy software reviews only to companies that provide their software online rather than as a program that you install on your hard drive.

With all the spy-ware and Trojan worms trying to gain control of your computer, it has become just too risky to download and install any bankruptcy program to your hard drive. If you do not know what spy-ware is, they are small invisible computer programs that install themselves into your computer's hard drive and memory and monitor just about anything you do. They are often used to steal passwords and credit card numbers. Read more about it below.

• Online-Software.
• Easy to use interview wizard.
• Fully online. No nasty dot EXE or ZIP files to install, therefore no security risk.
• Money-back guarantee.
• More information

• Template based.
• Fully online. No spy-ware risk as is the case with installable programs.
• Money-back guarantee
• More Information

If you are a bankruptcy attorney or paralegal, you will be better served with a bankruptcy program designed specifically for attorneys. We break our rule of not recommending installable programs by recommending some here. We feel confident with these recommendation because most of these vendors have been around for a long time and are well reputed.

• Only for attorneys
• Money-back guarantee.
• More information

• Only for attorneys.
• Money-back guarantee
• More information

Bankruptcy Law:
An overview of bankruptcy law with links to key primary and secondary sources.
More Information

BankruptcyData
BankruptcyData.com is the premier business bankruptcy resource on the web.
More Information

Bankruptcy software comes in two varieties, Online Software and Installable Programs. Online software runs on the web server of the vendor company and you access it from the safe distance of your browser just as you would any other plain text web site. These programs allow you to submit your information through online forms in your browser. You generally log on to your account and then enter and edit your information in your browser. When you are done entering your information, the software at the vendor server generates the documents and emails them to you. You can then open the email from any internet connection and print them to your printer.

Installable bankruptcy programs are the exact opposite. They are a throwback to the old days before the advent of the internet when all software came in a big box and had to be installed in your hard drive to work. If your are old enough to remember those days, you will also remember that the biggest problem of the day was to get these programs to coexist on one computer. A program written for Mac would not work on Windows and even if you had the right version to run on your computer, then you had to deal with the fact that the new program you install today would alter key files and memory registers of your computer making it difficult for your other programs to run properly. It is called software compatibility. It is like having two angry mother-in-laws in the same kitchen.

The installable bankruptcy programs of today bring one more layer of problems with them and that is, they open up the whole arena of spy-ware and Trojans to your computer. Spy-ware are small invisible computer programs that install themselves into your computer's hard drive and memory and monitor just about anything you do. They are often used to steal passwords and credit card numbers. The internet is full of spy-ware and you probably have several of them on your computer.

Most free stuff you download off the Internet comes with spy-ware that monitor your shopping habits, compiles data on your web surfing and more. And you know what? It is all perfectly legal. How can such intrusion be legal? It is legal because legally, when you click the download button of the site, you are essentially giving the site the authorization to install in your computer whatever is behind the button and that includes spy-ware.

Spy-ware is often harmless, that is, if the invasion of your privacy does not bother you, but more importantly, they have been credited with stealing key strokes and using them to send passwords and credit card numbers back to malicious programmers. Not all spy-ware is that bad. Most of them report your web surfing habits and shopping preference back to their programmers who use them for marketing purposes.

As we said earlier, most people have some spy-ware on their computer and do not know it. How can you find out if you already have spy-ware on your computer? There are special computer programs you can download off the internet to detect and delete spy-ware from your computer. And you guessed it... There are some spy-ware companies that sell you a spy-ware removal software which only replaces other companies' spy-ware with theirs. McAfee and Norton Systems make trustable spy-ware removal programs.

The most common way that spy-ware is distributed is through freebies and very low priced software. Have you purchased a CD or download and then received a bunch of free software that you were not expecting? That free stuff usually has spy-ware invisibly integrated into it. Have you stumbled on a site offering you a software programs for a fraction of what other companies are charging for the same product? That is usually a sign of possible imbedded spy-ware. They may lose money on the software but make it back getting paid for distributing spy-ware.

We do not recommend any computer programs that requires you to trust some unknown programmer by downloading and installing an executable into your hard drive. These programs have file name that end in EXE or ZIP. Unlike web pages that are just made up of plain text html under the hood, computer programs including spy-ware are coded binary files and are impossible to read. There is therefore no way to know if a download contains spy-ware except after it has infected your computer. This is why we only review online bankruptcy software.

If you have to use bankruptcy software, use only online bankruptcy software since there is zero risk of spy-ware. They are also low priced, usually between $130 to $180. You must however not forget that in the end, it is still do-it-yourself. If you are a bankruptcy paralegal or attorney and just need a quick tool to prepare bankruptcy, then online software is a good choice, and more so if you want to use your experience to prepare bankruptcies for others.

If you have never filed bankruptcy before and just want yours done right, then you have only one choice -- full service preparation. Our Editor's Pick for Full Service are very affordable considering how important it is do have it done right the first time. Perhaps it is worth noting that when it comes to filing bankruptcy price is not everything. Over the life of your credit cards and debts, you have paid tens of thousands of dollars in interest charges and considering that you will be wiping out many thousands of dollars in debt, don't be a cheapskate. Get professional help even if that means paying $200 to a full service company or $1,200 to an attorney.

If you know other bankruptcy vendors you think we should review, let us know.