BANKRUPTCY PROCESS

Deciding Whether to File:
Bankruptcy is a legal proceeding under federal law. It should be considered by those who cannot meet their current financial obligations on time. Before considering bankruptcy you should first get an accurate picture of your financial condition. This can be done in two steps. First make a list of all of your debts and the total value of all of your assets. Assets are anything of value such as your
house, car, furniture, clothing, stocks, bonds, bank accounts, etc. The value of these assets is what you could reasonably expect to sell them for. The second step is to figure your monthly bills and costs and subtract this total from your monthly income. When listing your monthly bills and costs be sure to include such expenses as rent or mortgage payments, utilities, food, transportation, costs, child care, etc. If your monthly obligations are more than your income you may wish to consider bankruptcy to correct the problem. There are two types of bankruptcy proceedings that are available to consumers, namely chapter 7 and chapter 13. To hear more about each of these bankruptcy proceedings please call our office for a free consultation.

Free Consultation:

Telephone Consultation:
Our office will briefly discuss your financial situation with you over the phone in order to determine whether filing bankruptcy might be appropriate for your situation. In this conversation we will also explain the differences between Chapters 7, 11 and 13, discuss non-bankruptcy options that might be available to you and answer any questions that you might have regarding the Bankruptcy Process.

Office Consultation:
After discussing your situation on the phone, we will schedule an appointment to meet with you, free of charge, in order to further discuss and explore the possibility of filing bankruptcy. This meeting will usually last 45 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on the complexity of your case.

During your consultation, we will need to review a list of your creditors (or all of your bills), a paycheck stub for you and your spouse, a copy of your two most recent tax returns, and any papers regarding any lawsuits, foreclosure notices, divorce decrees and/or default notices.

If you decide to file bankruptcy, you will have the choice of either filing your bankruptcy case immediately in order to get a case number and the immediate protection from your creditors before you leave the office, or, you can take home and complete a questionnaire that we will use to type your bankruptcy Petition upon your return visit.

If, however, you decide that you do not want to file bankruptcy, there will be no charge for your consultation and all information will be held strictly confidential.

Paperwork Appointment:
At this appointment we will review your completed questionnaire and type your Petition, Schedules and Statements to file with the court. This appointment will usually last approximately one hour.

Creditor's Meeting:
This is a very routine meeting that usually occurs approximately 30 to 60 days after your case is filed. This meeting will only last 5 to 10 minutes. It is conducted by a Trustee that will ask you questions under oath, to be sure, among other things, that you understand what you are doing, that you told the truth in the Petition, Schedules and Statement, and that you personally signed these documents. The Trustee will also want to be sure that your legal options were explained to you prior to your filling bankruptcy. This is called a "Creditor's Meeting" because this meeting is allows your creditors the opportunity to appear and ask questions of you regarding your bankruptcy, however, the creditors rarely show up.

Chapter 7 Discharge:
You will receive an Order discharging you of your debts in a Chapter 7 case approximately 60 to 90 days after your Creditor's Meeting.


Chapter 13 Confirmation Hearing:
At the Confirmation Hearing the court approves your Plan for reorganization if you are current on your payments to the Chapter 13 Trustee, have appeared at the Creditors Meeting and Debtors Orientation Class, and have otherwise complied with the Bankruptcy Code. In most cases you will, not be required to appear at his hearing.