Is Filing Bankruptcy Online An Option?
While you can do almost everything, online there are some things you cannot do and filing bankruptcy online just happens to be one of them. However, there are several very good reasons why it is not possible to do. While many think that it would increase convenience, and granted it would, there are some things that just require a physical appearance of the person filing.
One of the main reasons why you cannot file bankruptcy online is because of fraud. While there are always measures developed to reduce the risk of fraud, it is still possible online. Just ask any major credit card company, paypal, and even the banks. Fraud is the main reason why filing bankruptcy online is not a good idea. It would be too difficult to verify identities before a case was filed. How awful would it be to discover that not only was your wallet stolen, someone also filed bankruptcy online for you as well!
Coming in close behind fraud is the ability to have a court clerk review all documents before submitted to a judge, as well as there are times when filing fees must be paid before papers can be submitted. It is too easy to computers to make a mistake and allow a document that is not completely filled out to be filed. However, a clerk themselves is able to quickly catch missing parts of documents and have them completed before being submitted to the courts.
Other reasons for not allowing people the option of filing bankruptcy online is because many people would be guilty of filing on a whim. Bankruptcy is never an easy choice to make; it needs to be given plenty of time and attention before you can understand fully all of the consequences and drawbacks. Imagine the financial consequences if anyone could file bankruptcy online in less than 20 minutes or so. Not only would papers be incomplete, but likely to be highly inaccurate as well. Typically filing bankruptcy is a process that takes several days to complete all of the paperwork properly so that all assets and debts are listed. If people were allowed the option of filing bankruptcy online then documents would likely be rushed to be prepared. Plus, by allowing people the option of filing bankruptcy online there would be fewer people using lawyers. While it may seem a wise decision to use fewer lawyers this would result in fewer people knowing their exact legal rights, much less the problems from people not being fully aware of the legal consequences involving bankruptcy. All of these facts add up to show why filing bankruptcy online is never a good idea. While convenience is always, a huge attraction sometimes making legal matters too convenient can cause serious repercussions that will last for many years. Such is the case with bankruptcy. Without proper paperwork and legal advice, you could be setting yourself up for a major disaster that is even worse than your current financial state.
| 