Legal Aid & Fee Waiver

Please read the following statements carefully so that you will understand the procedures for this session. Please sign your name after you have read this information.

If you are seeking to file bankruptcy, please call and speak with one of our certified bankruptcy counselors. Our bankruptcy department can be reached at 888-767-9155 ext 3 or Randy@adebtcoach.org

A Debt Coach Credit Counseling Services, Inc., has over 20 years of experience educating consumers and clients about money and credit. Our counselors have completed the certification program with The Center for Financial Certifications and are required to continue their education yearly to maintain this highly regarded certification. Our agency is a member of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA). The Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies has high standards for quality credit counseling and financial education, and our agency complies with those standards. In addition, our agency is certified by Bureau Veritas (BV) to meet the ISO 9001:2008 standards. BV is an independent third-party organization that reviews and monitors entities who provide social services.

A Debt Coach is a non-profit agency. We are organized and operating in accordance with Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. A Debt Coach receives funding in the form of grants from banks and other financial institutions that support financial counseling. We do not pay or receive fees or other considerations for referrals of debtor students to our agency. A Debt Coach is obligated to provide your certificate promptly upon completion of counseling/instruction, and we will do this within one business day upon the completion of your course. You will only receive your certificate upon completion of counseling. The Executive Office for the United States Trustee (EOUST) can potentially review client information as needed. The EOUST has only reviewed and approved pre-filing credit counseling and post-filing debtor education services.

If you are completing this process in-person or by phone, your counselor will ask you questions about your budget, assets, creditors, and factors that led you to consider bankruptcy.  After reviewing all your information, your counselor will conduct an analysis of your financial situation and explore your options with you and develop an individualized action plan for dealing with them. Upon completion of this counseling, your counselor will provide you with copies of all this information.

If you are taking this program online, the program will ask questions about your budget, assets, creditors, and factors that lead you to consider bankruptcy. There is a requirement by law that you must interact with your counselor in the counseling process. Your counselor will discuss the factors/reasons leading you to why you are considering bankruptcy, and review your budget, creditors, and assets. Your counselor will conduct an analysis of your financial situation, explore all alternatives to resolve your credit problems, and develop an individualized written action plan for dealing with your situation. The quality of your counseling session does not depend upon whether you decide to file for bankruptcy or not.

In addition, the quality of the counseling session will not be diminished if you complete the counseling session by telephone. Once this is complete you will be notified by email to log back into the program where you can print copies of all this information.

At the conclusion of the counseling, you will be provided with a certificate that you will need, should you decide to file for bankruptcy. The certificate of completion will be issued no later than one business day after you complete the counseling session. You will only receive the certificate if you complete the entire session. There is no charge for the generation of the certificate.  As an approved agency, this certificate is valid for180 days after the date and time the counseling is completed.

A Debt Coach Credit Counseling certified consumer credit counselor will be conducting this session. While he/she has expertise in helping those with financial problems, he/she cannot provide you with legal advice. In fact, this session is designed to provide you with information and alternatives; it is not intended to take the place of a consultation with an attorney to explore your legal rights and options.

To help cover the cost of providing this session to you, this agency charges a fee. The cost is $25.00 for a single and $25.00 if you will file jointly, payable by debit/credit card. The fee is the same for both internet and phone counseling. You may be eligible for a waiver of this fee based on your lack of ability to pay.  A waived fee is based on 150% poverty guidelines updated periodically by the US Department of Health and Human Services. If you think you qualify for a waiver, please call 888-767-9155 or Contact Us.

If you are charged a fee and during the counseling process, we find that you should have had your fee waived, then the counselor will notify you, and a refund to you will be issued within 1 week. The $25.00 fee includes any fees associated with the generation of the certificate.

A Debt Coach works with Legal Aid Services to make sure you are complying by qualifying for Bankruptcy and providing the best financial education to help you recover and grow afterwords. If you were not referred to A Debt Coach Credit Counseling Service from a Legal Aid service, please click here. Pre-Bankruptcy Course

The Pre Bankruptcy Course is provided by phone only for Legal Aid Services. We do understand that time frames are very important. A Debt Coach has counselors available 3PM EST to 7PM EST Monday through Friday. If none of these time frames fit your schedule, please call (888) 767-9155 Ext 3 to see about Saturday availability.   Book Appointment Here

What is Legal Aid?

Legal aid in the United States is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system in the United States. In the US, legal aid provisions are different for criminal law and civil law. Criminal legal aid with legal representation is guaranteed to defendants under criminal prosecution (related to the charges) who cannot afford to hire an attorney. Civil legal aid is not guaranteed under federal law but is provided by a variety of public interest law firms and community legal clinics for free (pro bono) or at reduced cost. Other forms of civil legal aid are available through federally funded legal services, pro bono lawyers, and private volunteers.

Financial debt can be very stressful when you owe debts that you can’t pay.  However, there are laws that protect you and some of your property from your creditors. In general, you cannot go to jail for a bad debt. But a creditor can sue you in court and ask for a judgment. If the creditor wins in court and you can’t pay what you own, the creditor may try to take some of your income or property to pay the debt. https://www.klaid.org/money-and-debtsThis must be done through a legal procedure that gives you notice before anything is taken.

United States law automatically protects certain income and property from your creditors. Some people with little property and income have nothing that can be taken by a creditor. That is because all their property and income are protected by law from the creditors. For example, most private creditors cannot collect the public benefits you receive. In this situation, you continue to owe the debt, but the creditor is unable to collect it from you.  However, if you owe a debt to the government, your public benefits might be at risk. This is where Legal Aid may assist you in your protection from your creditors. For a List of Legal Aide services, please click here: https://www.usa.gov/legal-aid

When you file a bankruptcy, you must pay a filing fee to the court. Everything else is provided for you for free. You are also required to list all your debts and creditors. If you don’t know the details about your debts, you should look at all your credit reports. You can pull your credit reports for free once a year at: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action This will help you make sure that all debts are listed, and you get the most relief from your Bankruptcy.

If you have any questions, please call 888-767-9155 ext. 3 or email randy@adebtcoach.org for assistance.