The Debtors Assistance Project is a bankruptcy assistance program that emerged to address a huge contradiction: people consider bankruptcy if they owe creditors lots of money, but can't afford the legal advice to steer them through a process that has grown more complicated (and thus expensive).

The Sun's personal finance columnist Eileen Ambrose talks in her column Sunday about the growing number of DIY bankruptcy filers working without a lawyer, known in legalese as filing "pro se". 

She talked to Jeff Sirody, a lawyer who volunteers with the Debtors Assistance Project, giving free bankruptcy advice in 30-minute sessions scheduled through the program. The bankruptcy court in Maryland also offers these tips for people filing for bankruptcy on their own.

Got some bankruptcy questions? Sirody will be Eileen's guest for her live chat at noon Tuesday about filing for bankruptcy. E-mail your queries to her at eileen.ambrose@baltsun.com beforehand, then tune in at noon to get the answers from the legal expert. 

Can't make that time? You can still send your questions and check back later for the transcript.