Have you came across Upsolve and wondered whether you can actually file for bankruptcy for free?? Have you taken on payments that you can no longer afford? Are you unsure of how you can get out from underneath the payments?
You might have even considered bankruptcy, but were deterred by the costs associated with the attorneys and other expenses. If this sounds like you, or you’ve gone through something similar, then we are excited to be able to share a tool with you that we think can help. This article will take a look at the company Upsolve. We will go over what it is, how it can help, and what others think of the tool.
Voted as one of the best inventions of 2020 by Time Magazine, Upsolve is a nonprofit tool that allows you to file bankruptcy for free. They describe themselves as the “Turbo Tax of bankruptcy”. The company offers totally free education and customer support. They even have a community that can help encourage you and answer questions you have along the way. The company has many large sponsors ( like Harvard University, the Robin Hood Foundation, and even individual sponsors) that allow Upsolve to keep its services completely free.
Not everyone may qualify for the free Upsolve program. If you do not qualify, you may be referred to a bankruptcy attorney that will offer a free consultation, but not free representation.
Per multiple interactions, the people who qualify for Upsolve's free program are those who are not required to fill out a tax return.
So, if you are a social security recipient who is not required to file a tax return, you may qualify for Upsolve's 100% free DIY bankruptcy filing software.
The bankruptcy forms are complex. So, if you do qualify for the DIY filing software, it may be able to save a lot of time and headaches. That said, it may still be easier if you filed with an attorney via a free bankruptcy consultation that has software to automatically fill everything out for you.
Check out just a piece of the bankruptcy form that the Upsolve software may help you with.
Let's say you have to fill out a tax return or you may too much to qualify for Upsolve's free service. If that's the case, what is the all-in cost of bankruptcy filing, and do you even qualify for Chapter 7?
We used the bankruptcy forms and our internal data to help create the following free bankruptcy calculator to help you estimate qualification and cost of filing for bankruptcy.
Upsolve helps most directly with bankruptcy. After browsing through the site’s educational site, they do have articles on topics such as debt settlement, debt consolidation, and other forms of debt relief, it does not appear as though they offer any help or direct guidance with these things. However, it does appear as though they offer a free consultation with an attorney who might be able to help you decide between bankruptcy and a different debt relief option.
So, we’ve established that Upsolve’s main focus is bankruptcy. However, this does not necessarily include all forms of bankruptcy or every case. There is a specific goal when it comes to Upsolve’s mission: easily discharging debt. This means that Upsolve tends to work with the most straightforward Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases.
Because Upsolve is a nonprofit and attempts to do everything virtually such as Chapter 7s with a great deal of minutiae, not only is unlikely to be done well, but it will also cost too much. At the beginning of your journey with Upsolve, they will ask hundreds of questions. These questions will help narrow down whether or not you are eligible for their services.
There is a myriad of things that can revoke your eligibility. Things like owning a home, earning above the median income for your state, or having a pending injury lawsuit can all disqualify you from their program. While these things aren’t inherently bad or wrong, they do make it too complicated for Upsolve to be effective in assisting. If Upsolve won't work with you, it looks like they might send you other referrals or possibly even sell your information to other companies for leads.
To wrap up, Upsolve may not have a wide variety of options, but it sounds like they focus on what they can do best. And what they can do best is a simple Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. If this is what you are looking at pursuing, then you can start by taking Upsolve’s questionnaire to see if you qualify for their program. They have many super educational articles and Q&A’s that can help you further determine whether or not Upsolve is right for you. Let’s take a look now at what you might expect to pay with Upsolve.
As mentioned earlier, Upsolve is a nonprofit organization that does not charge for its services. This DOES NOT mean that you will be filing for bankruptcy for free!! You will still likely have to pay the court filing fee along with other various charges you might accrue during your bankruptcy case. Despite this, Upsolve’s services are free.
Upsolve advertises itself as the “TurboTax of bankruptcy.” Basically, this means that they can help you fill out your paperwork, connect you with a free attorney for a consultation, and assist you in filing your bankruptcy. Unfortunately, that’s about as far as it goes. They will help you make sense of the process and will help get you from point A to point B, however, they are not your lawyer, they will not argue on your behalf, and they will not attend hearings with you. They do offer credit counseling courses for free. The courts require you to take these during your bankruptcy
You will be denoted as representing yourself, though you will have the knowledge and information that Upsolve offers. While this might sound stressful, remember that Upsolve only takes simple Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases. These are cases that tend to not need anything more than an individual filing and letting the court do its job. You might be wondering if this is all worth it, or if you should just do it on your own or even find someone else to help you. Let’s take a look at what people who have worked with Upsolve have said.
Let's look at Upsolve's Google Reviews. Because Upsolve is different from for-profit businesses, the company is not found on many business review platforms like BBB and TrustPilot. However, there are many reviews on Google to look through. Shockingly, Upsolve has a perfect 5 out of 5-star rating! There are just over 1,000 reviews, and almost all of them are shining. Out of the 1,000+ reviews, only 6 are less than 4-stars. That is saying a lot for a company that is helping people file for bankruptcy.
Many of the reviews praise the ease of use and the peace that Upsolve gives. What would understandably be an incredibly difficult and stressful time in anyone’s life has the potential to be made easier with Upsolve’s help. Many reviews mentioned that Upsolve really did work similar to Turbo Tax. They were prompted with questions, and once they had answered everything, their next form would be filled out. This was done with the entirety of the bankruptcy filing documents, making preparing the paperwork far less daunting than it would otherwise be.
As mentioned above, if you have a simple Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, then Upsolve sounds like a great solution. In fact, many reviewers mentioned that they do not think their case would have been any different or even less stressful if they had hired a lawyer instead of using Upsolve. However, if your case is more complicated or convoluted, then you are likely better off finding legal representation that can attend your hearings.
Upsolve is a great nonprofit with a heart for seeing people have access to the tools they need to successfully file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. With the help of corporate sponsors and individual sponsors, Upsolve keeps its services completely free. Consider using Upsolve's free resources for filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy! And if you would like to talk to someone about your next steps, give our team at Ascend a call. We would love to help!
