What is the process for filing a bankruptcy?
At Solvent, our goal is to make the process of filing for bankruptcy as painless as possible. However, federal law requires specific documents and other requirements that we must meet. To that end, we are here to help our clients through the bankruptcy process.
How an attorney can help?
The filing of a bankruptcy is filled with potholes that are easily avoidable with the help of an experienced bankruptcy attorney. An experienced bankruptcy attorney can:
- Analyze your financial situation to determine the best course of action to take to discharge your debt and help you achieve your goals
- Strategize how you can lose your debt and keep your assets
- Prepare all documents that are filed with the court
- Navigate the legal process so you can easily make it through the bankruptcy process by dealing with your creditors, the panel trustee, the US Department of Justice, and the bankruptcy court
- Represent you at the meeting of creditors and other hearings to ensure that your rights are well protected
Ultimately, the attorney you choose should not only be knowledgeable about bankruptcy but understanding to your needs. Bankruptcy is a difficult process, your relationship with your attorney should not be difficult.
How does the process start?
At Solvent, the process to file for bankruptcy starts with a free consultation with an experienced consumer bankruptcy attorney. The attorney will start the process by asking you a lot of questions to determine the best option forward in dealing with your debt. The consultation will allow you to fully understand the process and prepare for a fresh start. The attorney will ensure that you qualify for a chapter 7 or determine the parameters of a chapter 13 repayment plan. The attorney will give you a list of documents you will need to provide so we can prepare your bankruptcy petition.
How do you pay for the bankruptcy?
The most difficult hurdle for bankruptcy clients is how to pay for quality legal representation. Every bankruptcy client has the same dilemma – how to you pay for an attorney when you are going bankrupt? It is simple in a chapter 13 as the attorney fees are paid through the chapter 13 plan. A chapter 7 is different as the law does not provide for attorney fees to survive the filing of the bankruptcy petition. At Solvent we have multiple ways a client can pay for our services. The options include:
- Payment before filing
- Bifurcation of the attorney fees between pre-petition and post-petition services
- Obtaining a 3rd party (e.g. relative or friend) to guarantee the fees
The bottom line is that we will find a way to make the fees affordable for all clients.
What happens after you provide all the required documents?
Once you provide all the documents to our office, an experienced paralegal starts to put the bankruptcy petition together. The paralegal and the attorney work together to cross-check the work and ensure that the petition is as accurate. Upon completion, you will review the petition with the attorney immediately before filing the case to make any final changes and then Solvent will file the case.
What happens when your case is filed?
Immediately upon filing, federal law requires that all collection activity stops, and you are protected. You will be assigned a panel trustee and are required to turn over specific documents to the trustee. A paralegal will help gather the documents and submit them to the trustee. You will have a hearing approximately 30 days from the filing of your case at which you will be required to testify to the accuracy of your bankruptcy petition.
Upon completion of the hearing, a chapter 7 and a chapter 13 go on different paths. In a chapter 7, you will wait for approximately 60 days to obtain a discharge of your debt. In a chapter 13, you will continue to make your chapter 13 payments for the duration of the chapter 13 plan and then obtain a discharge of your debt.
