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The first step in filing bankruptcy is collecting
all of your personal financial information. This will include
a list of all your secured and unsecured debts (you might
find ordering your credit report helpful), tax returns for
the last two years, deeds to any real estate you own, car
titles, and any other loan documents you may have.
Then either your attorney, or yourself if you decide to file
without the help of an attorney, will need to complete the bankruptcy
forms. These forms, collectively referred to as
the schedules, ask you
to describe
your
current
financial
status and recent financial transactions (usually within
the last two years). If you are filing a Chapter
13 bankruptcy,
a proposed repayment plan must also be submitted with your
petition. Once the bankruptcy petition is completed
you will need to file the petition with your local United
States bankruptcy court. The fee for filing a chapter
7 bankruptcy is $299 and the fee for a chapter
13 bankruptcy is $274.
Immediately upon filing your petition with the
bankruptcy court an automatic
stay goes into effect. This provision
prevents creditors from making direct contact with you
or staking a claim to any of your property from the date
of filing.
Approximately a month after filing bankruptcy, the trustee will call
a first meeting of creditors. This meeting, often called
a 341 meeting, requires the presence of the debtor.
Creditors rarely attend the 341 meeting even if they have some
specific questions about the bankruptcy filing. Objections
are typically resolved by negotiation between the debtor
or the
debtor's counsel and the creditor.
If a compromise can not be reached, a judge will intervene. The
meeting of creditors typically lasts about five minutes.
If there are
no challenges, you will receive a notice from the court,
usually within four to six months, that the
bankruptcy
is
discharged.
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