Libertyville Bankruptcy Attorney States The Pre-Filing Requirements

The first main requirement is that of a credit counseling session.  The credit counseling session must be completed just prior to or within 180 days of filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case.  The credit counseling session is typically a one hour session on thecomputer or over the phone with a credit counselor approved by the bankruptcy court. 

The second requirement is to provide your most recent federal tax return.  The last requirement is to submit the last 60 days of paycheck stubs or other evidence of income. 

Once all of those prefiling requirements are satisfied and once you have paid or worked out an arrangement with your bankruptcy attorney, your case can then be filed.  Your bankruptcy attorney will file your case online through the Internet electronically.  Immediately upon filing the bankruptcy case, the clerk of the United States Bankruptcy Court will issue a case number as well as a date, time and meeting room for the meeting of creditors which is your court date. 

If any of your creditors have been taking action against you such as a bank citation or a wage garnishment or other form of harassment, possibly a utility shut off; then your attorney will want to send a copy of the Automatic Stay immediately to that creditor.  Once the creditor receives the Automatic Stay, they are prohibited from contacting you and must cease all collection efforts. 

Approximately 4 to 6 weeks after your cases filed, you will appear in front of a bankruptcy trustee to answer questions under oath based upon the information that you provided in your bankruptcy petition.  The Chapter 7 trustee’s role is to administer assets, nonexempt assets, for the benefit of creditors.  In 99% of all Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases, there are no assets with which the Chapter 7 trustee can administer.  Thus, the Chapter 7 trustee will make a finding of no assets.  

Approximately 60 days after that meeting of creditors, you will receive a Discharge in Bankruptcy.  A Discharge in Bankruptcy is the final document that you get from the Clerk of the US Bankruptcy Court stating that your case has gone through to completion and no creditors can bother you on those discharged debts once again.  The Discharge Order or Discharge in Bankruptcy is the equivalent of the fresh start going forward.  Thus, if any creditors in the future try to collect on a debt that was discharged, you can contact your lawyer or just send that creditor a copy of your discharge paper.  If a creditor tries to collect despite the fact that you have filed the bankruptcy, you should notify your attorney immediately because you may have a Cause of Action or a lawsuit against that creditor for violating the Bankruptcy Code.