What happens if I file a chapter 7 bankruptcy?

A chapter 7 bankruptcy is commenced by filing a voluntary petition, accompanied by various summaries and schedules usually comprising 30 or more pages. Immediately upon filing, your creditors are prohibited (estopped) from bothering you or attempting to collect on the debts by what is commonly called "the automatic stay". A trustee is appointed by the court to review your filing and to recommend to the court that your debts be discharged, that is, wiped out. About 4 to 5 weeks after filing, you have to appear for a trustee meeting, called a "341 meeting" or "meeting of creditors" which is mostly a formality. Creditors only very, very, rarely attend or send a representative. You will usually receive your discharge about four months after the trustee meeting.

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Who can file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition?

Anyone can file a chapter 7 bankruptcy.

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What is a chapter 13 bankruptcy petition?

A chapter 13 bankruptcy provides you up to three years to pay off your debts. The payments are made through a court appointed chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is generally not suitable for most people since it does not give you a clean breakaway from your debts. Many people who start with a chapter 13 end up converting to a chapter 7 bankruptcy if they cannot maintain their chapter 13 plan payments. Chapter 13 tends to work best for people who are facing foreclosure on their house or attachment or confiscation of other assets in which they may have a large equity position.

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Should you file for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy?

Most people file chapter 7 bankruptcy because they are overextended on any of the following: Credit card debts, medical bills, collection accounts, lawsuits, judgments and more. If you can pay your bills without problems, then bankruptcy is not for you. Remember, filing bankruptcy was provided for in our United States Constitution in order to prevent American citizens from becoming burdened or enslaved by either usurious moneylenders or unfortunate circumstances.

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Will bankruptcy stop bill collectors from calling?

Yes. Bankruptcy will stop all the phone calls and all the harassment. When you file bankruptcy, the court clerk sends a notice to all your creditors notifying them and telling them to leave you alone. It works this exact way even if you are not represented by an attorney. You do not need to hire an attorney if your goal is to stop the harassment and wipe out your debts.

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How long after filing will the creditors stop calling?

If you want your creditors to stop calling you today, it is possible. We can prepare your bankruptcy in under one day and the moment the court files it, your creditors must stop calling you. After filing, the court will give you a case number and you can give that number to any bill collector who calls and that will be their last call. The court also sends out a notice to all of them in any case.

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Should you hire an attorney for your bankruptcy?

You are allowed by law to file bankruptcy without an attorney. For most people, filing bankruptcy is about preparing dozens of pages of paperwork that have more to do with accounting than with law. Nonetheless, if you own a business or have a complicated situation, it will not hurt to get advice from an attorney first before having us prepare your documents. We prepare the same documents that a attorney would and frankly, we have prepared more bankruptcies than most attorneys will prepare in a lifetime. This all adds up to invaluable experience and quality.

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Who deals with my creditors and bill collectors during the bankruptcy?

If you have a secured debt such as your auto payment or mortgage that you want to keep on paying, you can continue to make the payments as usual. As for all other creditors, the bankruptcy they are wiped out and you never have to pay them again. As for dealing with the creditors during the bankruptcy process, the bankruptcy court and the trustee deal with them, not you.

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Will my employer and landlord find out about my bankruptcy?

Though bankruptcy is a public record, the court does not notify your employer or landlord unless you listed them as creditors on the bankruptcy documents. By law, you cannot be fired or discriminated against because you filed bankruptcy.

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Can my employer fire me for filing bankruptcy?

No. You cannot be fired for filing bankruptcy.

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Can I go to jail if I file bankruptcy or don't pay my debts?

No. You cannot go to jail for not paying your debts or for filing bankruptcy. If that were possible, half of the country would be in jail.

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Does the spouse of a married person have to file bankruptcy?

If you are married, your spouse does not have to file bankruptcy. You can file bankruptcy as an individual or you can file one joint bankruptcy. If you decide to file one joint bankruptcy together with your spouse, we do not charge you extra for your spouse as others do.

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Can I keep any credit cards?

Yes. You can keep any credit cards you want so long as you arrange it with the credit card company. It is not usually a good idea to keep credit card debts that you can walk away from, but if that is what you want, it is quite easy to do.

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Will I have to fill out forms?

No. You will not have to fill out the 30 or 40 pages of forms that it takes to file bankruptcy. We will do all that for you and we will guarantee that the court clerk will accept it or your money back.

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Will I have to go to court?

No. You will not have to go to court. You will however have to attend a trustee meeting approximately 30 to 40 days after filing. You do not need to be represented by an attorney at the meeting and if you have an attorney anyway, he or she will have very little to do there. The meeting lasts only a few minutes, sometimes even seconds. After this meeting, you will receive a discharge notice and that is it.

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What are the alternatives to bankruptcy?

There are alternatives to filing bankruptcy but debt consolidation or credit counseling is not a good one. If you reach the point of having to file bankruptcy, usually, nothing else will make sense. Either pay your debts or file bankruptcy.

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What should I do to to file bankruptcy?

You need to have us prepare your bankruptcy documents. Filing bankruptcy is mainly about preparing the documents and we will do that for you. Your part is to send us your financial data and then to sign the finished documents that we return to you. It is the easiest, most inexpensive, and quickest way to file bankruptcy. Just goto our SECURE ONLINE SUBMISSION FORM, read the instructions, fill out the form, select your preferred method of payment, and click the "submit now" button to instantly send the data to us.

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Can I file a bankruptcy for my debts, but not include my assets?

No. Filing bankruptcy is about being honest. Though the trustee does not know what assets you have and will usually not undertake to find your assets, you are required to make a complete and true disclosure of your assets. When we prepare your bankruptcy documents, we do so only with the information that you give us. It is your responsibility to give us your correct information.

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Can I file bankruptcy to delay a creditor?

Many debtors file bankruptcy to delay foreclosure or eviction and it works, but that is not a good reason for filing. If you file bankruptcy, do so in good faith and do not try to abuse the system.

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Will I lose my assets by filing bankruptcy?

Generally speaking, the answer is no. Bankruptcy allows you to protect your property by applying exemptions to them. The idea is to give you a new beginning, not strip you of the little you have. We do not know of any of our many customers who have lost any property to the trustee. While it is possible, it is very rare and we have never seen it happen.

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