The Chapter 7 Process:

If after a consultation with one of our attorneys, you reach the conclusion that a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is your way out of debt, you will provide us with certain documents (i.e. last two years of tax returns, recent pay stubs, copies of all your debt statements) so that we can prepare the Chapter 7 petition.

Upon completion of the petition we will file the document with the Bankruptcy Court Clerk’s Office.

Upon the filing of the petition all creditors are restrained from taking any additional action to recover the debt. This restraining act is called a bankruptcy stay. The stay remains in effect throughout the bankruptcy process.

Approximately 30 days after the filing of the petition you will appear with our firm’s attorney at a meeting with the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee assigned to your case.

At this meeting, which will last approximately 15 minutes, the Trustee will review your petition and ask you a few questions concerning your expenses and income.

At the conclusion of this meeting, assuming the Trustee requests no further information, your case will be closed. 60 days after the meeting, if no objections from your creditors have been filed with the Court, you will receive your discharge of all your dischargeable debts.

The Chapter 13 Process:

After our initial consultation and a review of your financial situation, we will advise you as to whether you qualify for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

If we mutually agree that Chapter 13 is your best alternative, we will prepare a plan which will provide a monthly payment covering a period from 36 months to a maximum of 60 months. This one monthly payment will be paid to the Bankruptcy Court and at the conclusion of the time period, assuming all plan payments have been made, you will receive a discharge.

The payments will be made to a Bankruptcy Trustee who is authorized by the Court to receive your payments and distribute the plan payment to the creditors.