Whilst you may petition for your own bankruptcy, it is also possible to seek help from several areas. A solicitor (or lawyer in Scotland), an authorized accountant or an experienced and most importantly licensed insolvency practitioner (IP) may all petition for bankruptcy on your behalf. Do not expect more than the simplest of assistance from the court, you are not a criminal but they are not in place to assist you, just process your bankruptcy petition.

All three are professionals who deal with different aspects of bankruptcy and are lawfully allowed to assist you in your bankruptcy petition. The solicitor is likely to be the most expensive, the accountant second and the insolvency practitioner will probably be the best value for money because that is their specialist area of expertise and deal mainly with this type of case, therefore they are forearmed for such events.

In most cases the bankruptcy petitioner will have to go to the court and have their bankruptcy petition heard. The judge will then make a decision about it. Failure to attend without just cause could result in the petition being thrown out of court, or if you appear to be acting negligently a severe fine or worse. Bankrupts no longer go to prison because of their debts, attending court will not end in you being 'taken down' and sent off to some workhouse debtor's prison, you have nothing to fear in attending court for your bankruptcy other than a little embarrassment.

It is possible for you to send someone on your behalf if you are unable to attend the court due to health implications or if you no longer reside in the country in which the bankruptcy petition is being or the order being made.