Do I need to have an attorney to file bankruptcy?

No. But you are crazy if you don’t, especially if you have assets and think you want to file a chapter 7 bankruptcy or are trying to file any chapter 11 or 13 bankruptcy.

The reason there are not that many lawyers who do bankruptcy work is that it can be a complicated area of law. At every step of the way there are court administration clerks who get in trouble if they are not nitpicky about the paperwork that you file, and bankruptcy trustees, creditors’ attorneys and bankruptcy judges who expect you to do it right the first time and are not there to give you advice. In fact, they are prohibited from doing it because they are your adversaries. They are nice folks, but they have high expectations. Everybody they see every day has a sad story and sympathy will not get you very far at all. Having an attitude can get you thrown in jail or fined. Screwing up your file can cause you to lose your house.