A Guide on Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Applications

bankruptcy lawyers near me, bankruptcy attorney, bankruptcy, How to File for Bankruptcy, What to Expect After Bankruptcy,

Bankruptcy is an essential part of any commercial and banking division. It is important to note that this is a federal procedure, so you are advised not to mess about with its application requirements. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is what you file when you want to wipe out your debts and usually involves quite a lot of paperwork. Most times, the documents required vary from one case to the next depending on the requirements of each particular instance.

Filing for Bankruptcy: The First Step

One of the first things you must to do is find a competent attorney. However, some people may opt to go at it alone, usually in the attempt to avoid high legal costs. Though, it is highly advised that you use the route of hiring an attorney.

Once you have hired an attorney, you need to submit to all the required documents to them to have them start building your case for the application.

The Credit Counselling Session

However, before your petition can be filed, you are required by law to take part in a credit counseling session. This credit counseling session can be completed online in the privacy of your home if you have internet access and includes a ten-minute phone call with your credit counselor. Once the session is complete, your credit counselor should provide you with a certificate of completion for your attorney to file alongside your petition to the court.

Reviewing the Petition

Chapter 7 petitions usually end up being about 50 to 60 pages long, and it is advised you go through it in its entirety looking for any inaccuracies or changes that you should bring to your attorney’s attention. Reviewing of the petition is vital before you can proceed to file it in court. It is important to note that once you sign these documents, you do so under the penalty of perjury and confirm that all the information contained therein is entirely truthful and accurate to the best of your knowledge.

The attorney will then proceed to file your chapter 7 application electronically to the bankruptcy court. At that time, two things take place. One, you get assigned a trustee, a hearing date and time; and two, a federal law known as the automatic stay comes into effect. This automatic stay is what prohibits creditors from making further attempts to collect from you during this period.

Section 341 Hearing

A meeting of creditors commonly known as the section 341 hearing should occur in about 3 to 6 weeks from date of filing. This is to give you ample time to ensure you make prior arrangements to attend this hearing. This hearing is usually conducted by your trustee, and no judge is present at this stage. The decisions by trustees are made final at these hearings, and creditors are usually invited to attend but rarely ever show up.

Creditors are then given sixty days from the hearing date on to object to anything if need to. It is not common to get objections at this stage, but on some rare occasions, they do arise.

All in all, anyone getting into this chapter 7 bankruptcy procedure should know that it definitely will not be a walk in the park but is, in fact, completely manageable.

Featured Image: twitter