Petition Preparer Prevails Against Bankruptcy Court
A “bankruptcy petition preparer” is defined in the Bankruptcy Code as a non-attorney “who prepares for compensation a document for filing.” Hudena James helped prepare a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition for debtor Edward Guidry. After Guidry had some problems concerning a property where his estranged wife was living, he tried to convert the bankruptcy case to a Chapter 13 to stop the property from being sold, but the conversion fell through. Guidry later told the court that he'd been “ill-advised” by James to attempt the conversion. The bankruptcy court ordered James to explain why he offered legal advice to the debtor [...]