When financial difficulties arise, certain steps should be taken to begin the process of obtaining a fresh start.
Gather financial data including debt statements, auto loan and mortgage statements, pay stubs, tax returns, and a brief analysis of the value of any real estate.
Call my office for a free, no obligation initial consultation. Try to have your goals in mind. By goals, I mean what do you want to accomplish with regard to your financial situation.
Come prepared to discuss whether or not you want to keep your home. We want to know if you need a way to catch up on your mortgage. Do you want to get rid of overwhelming credit card debt? Have you lost your driver's license and need to have it reinstated or all of the above?
Once a write-up is taken, options will be discussed. Based on the goals of the client and the evaluation of income and assets, the attorney will recommend the type of bankruptcy that will best serve the needs of the client.
The petition will be prepared and a meeting will be scheduled to review and sign the schedules. It will be necessary to obtain a certificate of counseling which is required for all consumer bankruptcy filings.
The petition for either chapter 7 or chapter 13 will be filed invoking the "Automatic Stay". The filing date is very important because it stops all collection activity and creditor harassment.
A first meeting of creditors will be scheduled usually within 30 days before which, financial information will be sought to the trustee.
The first meeting is generally the only hearing that you will be required to attend. You will provide answers to questions regarding your recent financial history and attest to the accuracy of the schedules that we have filed.
After that hearing, depending on what our purpose in filing is, there may or may not be a hearing which the lawyer needs to attend.
Contact us for more details and to answer any questions.
