Chapter 7 - Solutions for a Financial Crisis

If you are in the midst of financial difficulties, the prospect of filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy can be daunting. You might be worried about having to complete a mountain of paperwork and handle complex legal procedures. That’s where a bankruptcy attorney, with experience in handling the bankruptcy process, can be the perfect answer in a time of uncertainty.

What Do I Have to Do Before Filing My Bankruptcy Petition?

Though the procedures and deadlines for filing a bankruptcy petition can be confusing for someone without legal training, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyer can make sure that you are educated thoroughly about the process and keep you advised as they
file any papers or statements that your petition requires.

Make sure to follow your attorney’s advice and do not attempt to conceal your property, destroy any financial records, violate any court order or make enormous, last-minute charges on your credit cards. Doing these things might get your case thrown out before you are granted a discharge!

Before filing your petition, you must:

• meet with your lawyer and provide the necessary information for completion of the petition and schedules, including a list of your current personal property and its value, a list of creditors whom you owe and any payments you have made to them, information on employment or other income, and other information that your bankruptcy lawyer will ask you to provide
• complete a U.S. Trustee-approved Credit Counseling Briefing and give the completion certificate to your attorney to file with your petition.

After you have completed these tasks, your bankruptcy attorney will file the petition and credit counseling certificate with the bankruptcy court.

What Happens After I File My Bankruptcy Petition?

After your bankruptcy attorney has filed your bankruptcy petition, you might be wondering if that’s all there is to it. However, there are more steps that you must take to ensure that your bankruptcy petition is properly filed and that you are complying with the procedures required by the bankruptcy court.

When you file your bankruptcy petition, this is what will happen:

• You will be granted an Automatic Stay from the court, which will prevent creditors from taking or continuing any collection or legal action against you.
• Your creditors will be sent a notice of your case.

A bankruptcy trustee will be assigned to oversee your case. The trustee is a federal employee appointed by the court to monitor your case and make sure you are eligible for bankruptcy. The trustee will review your petition, make sure that it is complete, and then schedule a meeting of your creditors.

What Must I Do to Make Sure My Bankruptcy Petition is Approved?

In order to make sure that you are able to receive your discharge as soon as possible, your bankruptcy attorney will work with you to make sure that all of your paperwork is filed in compliance with standard legal procedures. After your bankruptcy petition is filed, you and your bankruptcy attorney will:

• File any schedules that were not filed with the petition within 15 days.
• File a Statement of Intention within 30 days regarding any secured property.
• Attend the Meeting of Creditors, which will take place around six weeks from filing.
• Complete a U.S. Trustee-approved Debtor Education course at some point between filing and your discharge.

After you make sure that you follow all of these procedures for completing your bankruptcy petition, all you must do to see your bankruptcy petition through to discharge is play the waiting game. If no creditor objects to any specific debt for statutory reasons, and the trustee does not find that your case is “abusive” and dismisses it, then you will receive your bankruptcy discharge after 60 days.

What is the Statement of Intention?

The Statement of Intention is a written statement drafted by your bankruptcy attorney and filed without 30 days of filing your bankruptcy petition, or before the creditors’ meeting, if that should be scheduled inside the 30-day period. The statement must advise as to whether you intend to keep secured assets or surrender them to your creditors. After the statement is filed, you have 45 days to act on the plans set forth in your statement and either surrender the property or make payment. Your bankruptcy lawyer will be able to answer more questions about the Statement of Intention and the other parts of the bankruptcy process.

What Will Happen at the Meeting of Creditors?

The Meeting of Creditors—sometimes called the 341 Meeting, after the section of the bankruptcy code that describes it—is a meeting held with your bankruptcy trustee and your creditors around six weeks from the date when your bankruptcy attorney filed your bankruptcy petition. Approximately 15 days after filing, the court will mail a Notice of Commencement of Case to you and to all creditors listed in your petition, which includes the date and time of the creditors’ meeting and deadlines for creditors to make objections or file claims.

You must attend the meeting, and you will be asked to testify under oath to the accuracy of the information you have provided. If you do not attend, the bankruptcy trustee will notify the court and your case will be thrown out!

Creditors may question you at this meeting, but most choose not to attend. At least seven days before the meeting, you must provide the trustee (and any creditor who has requested it) a copy of your most recently filed tax return. Creditors have 30 days after your Meeting of Creditors to object to your exemption claims, and they have 60 days after the meeting in which to object to discharge of specific debts for specific statutory reasons.

How Soon Will My Bankruptcy Discharge Go Through?

Although it might seem that some of the steps in the process are complex, your bankruptcy attorney will be by your side to ensure that the right forms are completed and the right documentation submitted. During a 60-day time period following the Meeting of Creditors, creditors listed in the bankruptcy petition may object to specific debts for statutory reasons. Within that time period, the trustee can also move to dismiss the case if he finds that the filing is abusive. Once the 60-day period expires, you will receive your bankruptcy discharge!

If neither of these disputes occurs, you could receive your bankruptcy discharge as soon as three and a half months after your petition is filed.

Don’t Wait to File a Bankruptcy Petition! Discharge from Your Debts May Happen Sooner Thank You Think!

Getting constantly hounded by creditors can be a frustrating experience, and bankruptcy may be the solution to getting rid of them. At Chapter7.com, our bankruptcy lawyers do nothing but Chapter 7 bankruptcies for people just like you, and they have the kind of experience that can help you get back on track financially, both during the bankruptcy filing process and later on while you rebuild your credit.

If you’re ready to stop the hassle and headache of angry creditors, you can use our secure and confidential online case evaluation form to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our Chapter 7 bankruptcy attorneys, who will then contact you at a convenient time to discuss your bankruptcy options. You can also call our toll-free 24-hour hotline at 1 (877) 226-6844.

But if you’re not quite ready to take action, please feel free to review the educational resources throughout Chapter7.com. You can learn more about requirements for the bankruptcy process like debtor education and credit counseling, how the automatic stay granted by Chapter 7 Bankruptcy can stop creditors from contacting you, and find many more answers to your financial questions.