How to File Bankruptcy

Sometimes bankruptcy is inevitable. You understand the consequences of filing bankruptcy and have decided that bankruptcy makes the most sense for your future. So, how do you go about taking the next step and filing for bankruptcy?

Consider Hiring an Attorney
Many people decide to hire a bankruptcy attorney prior to formally filing for bankruptcy. In most cases, this is an important step because an attorney can often produce more favorable results than you could achieve on your own. An attorney is particularly important if you are filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy where a plan will need to be negotiated with your creditors.

Get Consumer Credit Counseling
Also, it is important to seek consumer credit counseling from an entity approved by the U.S. Trustee before filing for bankruptcy. Federal bankruptcy law requires bankruptcy petitioners to receive consumer credit counseling from an approved entity within 180 days of filing a bankruptcy petition. The consumer credit counseling will review alternatives to bankruptcy and consequences of bankruptcy with you.

Decide Whether You are Filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Protection
When you are ready to begin bankruptcy proceedings, you, in consultation with your attorney if you have hired one, will need to decide if you are filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection. Chapter 13 bankruptcies establish a repayment plan with your creditors and Chapter 7 bankruptcies allow you to repay your debts through a liquidation of your assets.


Filing
After you have decided which Chapter of the Bankruptcy Code best meets your financial needs and long term goals, then you can file the requisite papers with the Bankruptcy Court. You should also be prepared to pay all applicable filing fees at this time.

Once you have officially filed your petition for bankruptcy with the court, all of creditors will be notified and an automatic stay goes into effect. This means that your creditors may not contact you regarding debt repayment. Instead, all discussions of satisfying existing debts will go through the court.

Creditor Meeting
You will be notified, either through your attorney or by mail, of the date for a meeting with all of your creditors. The meeting is usually not long but it is significant. The meeting will review the debts and assets listed in your bankruptcy proceeding to ensure that all of your declarations were truthful. The trustee running the meeting will also make sure that you understand the details and consequences of your bankruptcy petition.

Developing a Plan
The next step is to develop a plan to settle your debts. In a Chapter 7 case, the trustee will determine if you have any nonexempt assets that can be sold to satisfy your debts and will oversee the sale and distribution of funds from those assets. In a Chapter 13 case, you will enter a 3-5 year plan to repay your debts.

Your credits have 60 days after the date of your meeting with your creditors to challenge the discharge of a particular debt or the entire discharge plan. If no lawsuits are filed within that 60 day window then your bankruptcy will be discharged soon after the 60 days have expired. If a lawsuit is filed then your attorney will work with you to finalize an agreement with the creditor or creditors who have brought suit.

It is a serious decision whether or not you should file for bankruptcy. If you decide that bankruptcy is the right plan for you then an attorney and the US Bankruptcy Court can help you navigate the different requirements necessary for a successful bankruptcy discharge. Source from http://resources.lawinfo.com/

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Free Consultations: Important for Bankruptcy Cases

If you are looking to hire a bankruptcy attorney then you have likely seen multiple ads that all claim to provide prospective clients with free legal consultations. However, the word consultation means different things to different attorneys and it is, therefore, important to understand what your free bankruptcy consultation will be before you agree to it.

Why is a Free Bankruptcy Consultation Important?

You should think of an initial consultation with a bankruptcy attorney as a job interview with you being the employer. You will, after all, be paying the attorney for a service and you, therefore, have the right to find out if you are comfortable with the attorney and if the attorney has the skills and expertise to get you the best possible outcome in your bankruptcy proceedings.
 
Many attorneys understand that they are providing you with a service and, accordingly, will not charge you for the initial meeting. This is not only to your benefit but to the attorney’s benefit as well. The attorney needs to conduct an initial case evaluation in order to determine if he or she is qualified to help you and to determine if it is a job that he or she wants.

What Questions Should I Ask If An Attorney Offers a Free Consultation?

While many attorneys realize the importance of providing an initial bankruptcy consultation free of charge, every attorney defines that initial consultation in a different way. There are some questions that you should consider asking any attorney, who is offering a free consultation, including:

    * How Long Is the Free Consultation? Attorney consultations can vary widely in duration. Some attorneys offer free 1 hour consultations and charge for any time over 1 hour. Other attorneys do not put a specific time limit on the consultation session.
    * Where is the Free Consultation? In an effort to keep consultations short and time efficient, some attorneys will only conduct free consultations over the phone or internet. Some clients and some attorneys prefer face to face meetings, however.
    * If I Don’t Retain You, What Happens? The lawyer should be aware that professional responsibility rules in most states limit what the lawyer can do with the knowledge obtained from a prospective client during a consultation meeting.
    * Should I Bring Anything to Our First Meeting? Similarly, would you like anything to review prior to our first meeting? These questions will allow you to come to the meeting prepared to answer the attorney’s questions.

A Free Consult Can Be a Good Start

When an attorney, or his or her office staff, answers your questions about a free bankruptcy consultation, it is important to take note of all of the answers. The way in which the attorney handles your questions and free consultations can be indicative of how the attorney will handle your entire case.

Most clients are looking for an attorney with whom they feel comfortable, and who they trust to do the best job possible in handling their bankruptcy. While this in no way means that an attorney is obligated to give prospective clients free consultations that go on for extraordinary lengths of time, it also means that prospective clients should not full rushed during a free consultation. Rather, each free consultation should be a productive meeting where the attorney and client have a chance to honestly get to know one another and to decide if the attorney is a good match for that particular client.

source from http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Articles/Bankruptcy

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Some Debts May Remain After Bankruptcy

The decision about whether to file bankruptcy is a difficult to decision to make. People often worry about the lasting effects on their credit history and their ability to borrow money in the future. However, sometimes the advantage of being relieved of debt in a bankruptcy proceeding outweighs the disadvantages. In order to weigh the advantages and disadvantages for yourself, it is important to understand exactly what debts bankruptcy gets rid of for you and which debts will remain your responsibility.
Individuals may file for bankruptcy pursuant to Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Chapter 7 bankruptcy requires the sale of the debtor’s nonexempt property and the distribution of the proceeds to the debtor’s creditors. Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows debtors with a regular income to keep their property and to come up with a debt repayment plan to satisfy debts over the course of 3 -5 years.
While most debts are satisfied in a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy discharge, there are certain debts that are likely to remain with the debtor following bankruptcy discharge including:

    * Alimony and child support debt for past amounts that have not been paid;
    * Taxes: unpaid taxes usually remain with debtors after a bankruptcy is discharged;
    * Government funded or guaranteed educational loans: are not discharged in bankruptcy proceedings;
    * Debts associated with a criminal sentence: debtors who are ordered to pay restitution in certain criminal cases must still pay those debts after an individual bankruptcy discharge;
    * Debts incurred in some in DUI lawsuits: a debtor who injured or killed someone while driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI or DWI) remains responsible for any financial damages awarded to a plaintiff in a lawsuit arising from the incident;
    * Mortgages: long term obligations such as mortgages may not be discharged in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceeding; and
    * Secured Debts that have been reaffirmed in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding remain the debt liability of the debtors.

The degree to which bankruptcy gives a debtor a fresh financial start depends on an individual’s specific debts. If most of the individual’s debts are government backed educational loans and unpaid taxes, for example, then bankruptcy will not relieve the debtor of his or her obligations.

A Bankruptcy Attorney Can Help a Debtor Achieve a Fresh Start

An experienced bankruptcy attorney will review all of an individual’s debts before filing a bankruptcy petition in order to advise a bankruptcy petitioner about which debts are likely to be discharged in bankruptcy and which debts will remain the responsibility of the debtor after bankruptcy. A bankruptcy attorney may be able to renegotiate debts that would ordinarily not be discharged or help a bankruptcy petitioner set up feasible repayment plans so that the remaining debt is not overwhelming.
For all of these reasons, it is important to contact an experienced bankruptcy attorney to discuss your options and to make sure that a bankruptcy will provide you with the fresh start which you are seeking by relieving most, if not all, of your debt.

sources taken from http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Articles/Bankruptcy

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