When You Are Filing For Bankruptcy...
If the bank trying to take your house or even if your bills got you down, what are you going to do? Since 2005 the law changed and filing bankruptcy may not be so easy and may not be the best solution. To be sure what is best for you (whether it's bankruptcy, talking a second job or debt consolidation, for example) you should ask a professional, a bankruptcy lawyer who will analyze your particular situation. Before you calling him, a useful thing to do is getting all your bills together, as well as copies of all loan agreements and utility bills, including cable and cell phone bills. The lawyer will ask you for copies of all legal notices that you have received about the money that you owe and a copy of your credit report. After that, you should get copies of the documents regarding your sources of income. Before it can be determined if you are eligible for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy , the attorney is going to have to put together a budget to see if you are able to pay your current bills. Usually your first meeting with the bankruptcy attorney is free. During that meeting, normally, you are going to go over all of the documents in detail so that your lawyer understands the true extent of your financial situation. He is going to ask a lot of questions and it is a good idea to tell him the truth and everything you consider useful, even if he doesn't ask you about that particular aspect. Your attorney needs to know as much as possible about your finances to determine if bankruptcy is a legal option. Your lawyer won't have any answers during your first meeting: only questions. The last thing he will probably do during that first meeting is to refer you to a federally approved credit counseling service. Asking for credit counseling is a part of the new law because the Congress felt that too many people were filing bankruptcy rather than actually paying their bills. When your attorney completes analyzing your situation, you will be called back for another meeting at which you will find out whether or not you qualify for bankruptcy. In the case in which you do qualify for filing bankruptcy, there will be at least one more meeting when you come back to sign the papers demanded in order to start de whole process and when you'll be told the exact date when you have to appear in court. This appearance in court will mark the beginning of a new stage of your life although you are not going to be free of debt for another few months. The best part of filling bankruptcy is that if you fulfill your requirements to the court you will no longer have to worry about creditors hounding you for payment; they are no longer allowed to talk to you; they can only to your attorney or the court. This meeting is called a "341 meeting" after the section in the bankruptcy code that requires it… It is normally scheduled 1 month after you file for bankruptcy and it is brief, in most cases, usually no more than 5 minutes in length. In court, creditors can appear and also question you regarding the property you own. After the 341 meeting, you have 60 days to "reaffirm" any debts and the same period of time is given to the creditors to initiate litigation in the Bankruptcy Court against you in an attempt to persuade the court that the filer should not receive a discharge for a certain debt. When the 60 days period is over, you will probably receives the Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge which means that most debts will be eliminated, except those for alimony, child support, student loans etc. |
