If a repossession or foreclosure has taken place, it is quite likely that there is a deficiency that is still owed to the creditor. Even if the creditor is not currently requesting any payment, it is important to list the creditor for any repossession or foreclosure our return, even if voluntary, so that the debt can be discharged.
Occasionally there is money owed to the debtor after a foreclosure or repossession. If this is the case, the trustee will be entitled to the money, not the debtor, as everything owed to the debtor becomes property of the bankruptcy estate and subject to the control of the trustee. Gifting large sums of money prior to filing bankruptcy is likely to draw increased scrutiny by the Court.
If you suffer losses due to theft or fire gambling or any other circumstance, this must be disclosed in your bankruptcy schedules. If the loss was shortly before the bankruptcy was filed, you may have insurance proceeds that are owed to you.
If you file your bankruptcy with the insurance proceeds pending, proceeds will become part of your bankruptcy estate. This can cause a big problem for people who suffer losses. If you wait, however, until you get the money and replace the items and they become again household goods and furnishings then they will be protected.
One more trap to watch out for when you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy yourself. All money paid to any attorney assisting or advising the consumer with bankruptcy, or any other firm like a debt settlement firm or credit repair agency in the one year prior to filing bankruptcy must be disclosed in your bankruptcy schedules.
Transfers cause significant problems in bankruptcy. If you have given away or sold or disposed of any property it must be reported in your bankruptcy. The look back period for the reporting is two years on the bankruptcy forms. These fraudulent transfers can create serious problems for all concerned. Note also that while the bankruptcy code provides for a 2 year look-back. But Ohio has a four-year look-back. And Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustees in Ohio will always ask if you have sold or given away or transferred any property in the last four years.
Sometimes a debtor in bankruptcy will have possession of property but will not own it. For example, if you are using a car that belongs to someone else but the title remains in their name and you are just using it with their permission until you can get one of your own, this needs to be disclosed.
Often parents will have cars in their names that are actually driven by and considered to belong to their children. In Ohio, the ownership is governed by the name on the automobile title.
Therefore these cars would not disclosed here in the statement of financial affairs as property being held for another because legally in Ohio, property belongs to the title owner. This often causes exemption problems. These are the highlights of the information contained in the statement of financial affairs. There are other categories and questions for businesses and other issues that are not commonly encountered. If your income average for the six-month period of time prior to the month that you file your bankruptcy is over the median income for your family size then you must complete the means test.
If your income is lower than this threshold and you are not required to fill out the Chapter 7 means test. Because the means test is a long and complicated document, we will not go into the details of the means test in this overview.
I have devoted an entire article to the means-tested how to pass it if you need to. When you file your Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition yourself, you will need to either mail the petition to the Court or personally deliver it to the Court. The court offices are now open daily to receive bankruptcy filings.
You will pay the court fees when you file. While attorneys are required to file bankruptcy petitions electronically when you file your bankruptcy yourself, you are permitted to file it in paper format on official bankruptcy forms. You should call the Court to ask how many copies to bring with you. When you file a bankruptcy petition yourself, the court fees are the same as that charged when an attorney files a case for you. Information about obtaining a waiver of the filing fee can be found here Waiver of Filing Fee.
Again, it is ill advised to use a bankruptcy petition preparer to help you with this debt relief project. Attend a Meeting of Creditors with a Bankruptcy Trustee.
After you file your Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, the Court will see that a bankruptcy trustee appointed to your case will oversee your case and your creditors will be notified of your bankruptcy filing. You are required to send a copy of your statement of intent official form if you have secured debts to the creditors yourself. The Court will not send this document for you. The trustee will ask you about this at your meeting of creditors.
The meeting of creditors, also called a meeting, will be held typically five weeks or so after you file your bankruptcy petition.
Creditors are permitted to attend these meetings but seldom do. You will be required to appear and testify under oath regarding the information that is contained in the documents you filed with the Court.
Also, at least a week prior to the meeting, you are required to provide a number of documents to the trustee. Documents Required to be Provided to the Trustee. Local Bankruptcy Court Rule — 1 provides a list of all of the documentation that you are supposed to provide to the trustee. This Local Rule is not applicable to a Chapter 11 business debtor who has made other arrangements with the United States trustee.
Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, copies of all payment advices or other evidence of payment e. In the event no such payment advices other evidence of payment have been received by the debtor, the debtor shall provide the trustee and the United States trustee with a certification of that fact under the time limitations set out above.
Trustees will ask for the full bank statement for the month you filed for all accounts listed. This is to help them get a complete understanding of your financial situation.
A common mistake made by people who file Chapter 7 bankruptcy without an attorney is to fail to provide all of the required documentation. If you attend your section meeting without having provided all of this documentation to the trustee, it is quite likely that the trustee will refuse to hold the meeting and will require you to reappear at a later date after providing the information required by local rules.
Generally, a second failure to provide the information will result in the trustee filing a request or motion, with the Court to dismiss your case. After you have successfully completed your section meeting of creditors, you will be required to file a certificate indicating that you have successfully completed a financial management course.
This is very important because even though you may have done everything else correctly, if you fail to provide the certificate of completion, the Court will not grant a bankruptcy discharge.
The certificate of completion for the financial management course that is required must be filed with the Court. The course provider will not file the certificate for you, you are required to do it yourself.
The Court Grants a Chapter 7 Discharge. Provided that no party objects and the trustee has no objection, the Court will in most cases grant the discharge as a matter of course.
However, objections to discharge or to the dischargeability of an individual debt sometimes occur. When this happens, it is highly advisable to get an attorney involved because litigation in bankruptcy court is beyond the ability of someone not trained in this area.
After the bankruptcy court grants your discharge, your dischargeable debts are legally no longer owed. Creditors cannot attempt to collect in any way. If they do, they are violating bankruptcy law. The three credit bureaus, after 60 days from the date of your discharged, should report the discharged debt as a zero balance, included in bankruptcy. You will want to pull your credit reports to ensure that this is happening properly.
Wait 60 days after the date of your discharge to pull your credit reports. Some debts are not discharged in Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The common debts that are not discharged include student loans, child-support obligations, and taxes. There are other classifications debts which do not get discharged as well, but these are the main kinds of debts the people have which are not discharged.
After you have discharged all or most of your debt in Chapter 7 and obtained the debt relief it provides, you will be better able to meet the financial obligations you have. It is advisable to begin rebuilding credit right away. If you owe money to multiple creditors, a debt consolidation loan can help. With a debt consolidation loan, you will get one new loan to replace your multiple other ones, often at a lower interest rate. In bankruptcy, you can have a fresh financial start, whereas, with debt consolidation, you will have to repay debts and manage finances on your own.
By doing so, you can improve your credit score with time and have a good financial life. Your email address will not be published.
Read More. Learn More About Our Team. Skip to content Content on BetterCreditBlog. Ads by Money. We may be compensated if you click this ad. See how much you could save by consolidating your debt! Find out how much time and money you could save by partnering with National Debt Relief. Click on your state to get started! Overwhelmed by debt? Individuals can file bankruptcy without an attorney, which is called filing pro se.
However, seeking the advice of a qualified attorney is strongly recommended because bankruptcy has long-term financial and legal outcomes. Filing personal bankruptcy under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 takes careful preparation and understanding of legal issues. Misunderstandings of the law or making mistakes in the process can affect your rights. Court employees and bankruptcy judges are prohibited by law from offering legal advice.
Pro se litigants are expected to follow the rules and procedures in federal courts and should be familiar with the United States Bankruptcy Code , the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure , and the local rules of the court in which the case is filed.
Local rules, along with other useful information, are posted on the court's website and are available at the local court's intake counter. Bankruptcy Forms are available to the public free of charge. You can ask to make up to 4 monthly payments. The court will decide whether bankruptcy laws support granting you a waiver. This happens after your bankruptcy petition. If your application is denied, the court will typically order you to pay the fee in installments.
Once you have prepared your bankruptcy forms, you will need to print them out for the court. You must print them single-sided. You will also need to sign the forms once they are printed. Most bankruptcy courts require just one signed original of the petition , but some courts require additional copies. So, before you head out to submit your forms, call your local bankruptcy court to find out how many copies you will need to bring and confirm you have all the required local forms.
Once you enter the doors of your local courthouse , you will be greeted by security guards, who will ask you to pass through a metal detector.
They will take your bankruptcy forms and your filing fee or application for a waiver or to pay the fee in installments. Do not submit your bank statements or tax returns to the court. These documents go to the trustee after the case is filed. Check out Step 7 below for more info on that. This usually takes no more than 15 minutes. The name of your bankruptcy trustee. At this point, your case has been filed!
The automatic stay now protects you from all debt collectors. The Chapter 7 trustee is an official appointed by the court to oversee your case and liquidate, or sell, nonexempt property for the benefit of your creditors. Not all types of bankruptcy require the involvement of a bankruptcy trustee, but both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases have one. Pay attention to mail you receive from the trustee after filing your case.
The trustee will send you a letter asking you to mail them certain financial documents, like tax returns, pay stubs, and bank statements. After filing your bankruptcy forms, you will need to complete a Debtor Education Course from an approved credit counseling agency. The purpose of the course is to educate you on making smart financial decisions going forward but does not provide legal advice about the bankruptcy process.
Your meeting, or meeting of creditors , will take place about a month after your bankruptcy case is filed.
Due to the COVID pandemic, all meetings are held either by video conference or via telephone until at least October. The main purpose of the meeting is for the case trustee to verify your identity and ask you certain standard questions and most last only about 5 minutes. Your creditors are allowed to attend and ask you questions about your financial situation, but they almost never do.
You should also bring a copy of your bankruptcy forms to the meeting, along with your last 60 days of pay stubs, your recent bank statements, and any other documents that your trustee has asked for. The bank will either file request with the bankruptcy court to ask permission to retake the car, or wait until your discharge is granted before picking it up.
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