A Bankruptcy Lawyer’s Blog

The Bankruptcy Process

This article addresses how Bankruptcy cases are handled for cases that filed in the Bankruptcy Court located in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bankrutpcy cases filed in other courts may progress in a slightly different manner.

Once you decide to file Bankruptcy, your attorney should provide you with some items that you will need your to complete. The main item is usually a questionnaire which should ask to to provide some of the following:

-some personal information (name, address, ss#, ..., );
-information on your assets (a breakdown of bank accounts, cars, homes, ...);
-list of creditors to make sure that we have all of your creditors, since not all of your creditors will appear on your credit report;
-information on your last 6 months of income; and
-information on your living expenses.

You should also gather certain documents, such as bank statements, tax returns, paystubs, divorce decrees, or other items that will be needed to either complete your paperwork or that will have to provided to the Bankruptcy Trustee. You will also then have to complete a Credit Counseling course that is usually completed on the internet.

Once you complete the questionnaire and deliver the requested documents, your attorney should begin to prepare your paperwork. Once done, you should review and sign the Petition, Schedules and related items. Your case is then ready to be filed provided you have completed the Credit Counseling course, and paid the appropriate fees. Keep in mind that once your case is filed, you will have to complete a second course on financial management.

What happens next depends on whether you filed a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 case. If you filed a Chapter 7, about a month after your case is filed, you will need to attend a Meeting of Creditors at the Bankruptcy Court. During this meeting, the Trustee will ask you questions for a few minutes and your creditors may also seek some information from you. Typically, however, no creditors will show up. Usually, clients are understandably quite nervous about attending the Meeting of Creditors. They are relieved once it is over and they see that it is not near as bad of an experience as they feared. Most of the time, about 2 to 2 months after the Meeting of Creditors, you will receive you Discharge. This closes your case and is the final step in extinguishing you dischargeable debts.

In a Chapter 13 case, you will have to start making your monthly "Plan Payments" to the Trustee about a month after your case is filed. Also, the Meeting of Creditors is about 6 to 8 weeks after the case is filed. Then, approximately a month after that you can "confirm" your case, which is the process where the Bankruptcy Court approves your plan. Also, items such as removing your second mortgage, attempting to modify your first mortgage, or negotiating a settlement with the IRS or other creditor, should be taken care before your case is confirmed. Sometimes, the confirmation will need to be continued to resolve these types of issues. After your case is confirmed, you will need to make all of your scheduled Plan Payments. Once this is done, you will receive your Discharge.

As indicated, the above description pertains to Bankruptcy cases filed in the Bankruptcy Court located in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bankrutpcy cases filed in other courts may progress in a slightly different manner.

Shawn Christopher is an attorney licensed in Nevada and California. His office is located in the Las Vegas area. For more information on his form, please visit his website, http://www.christopherlegal.com or for more specific information on bankruptcy, please review http://www.bklasvegas.com

Anyone can fall victim of excessive debt hence when it is just right to gear yourself with all of the necessary information that you need in order to know your action the moment when you are faced with this kind of problem.

If you are looking for ways to simply escape the problem without putting too much weight on you then you can simply file for bankruptcy; this method will automatic stop creditors from collecting your debt payment. After you filed for bankruptcy, an automatic court order will be given in order to stop companies from doing any further action against you, not until your case was finally resolved. The great thing about this is the fact that creditors are not bound to repossess your car, or even dig for a foreclosure of your house; they cannot do anything that will harm your properties.

The truth is creditors are not even allowed to contact you the time after you filed for bankruptcy. In case they go behind the line and still contacted you, they will have to pay some fees for doing such.

You may want to seek the help of a bankruptcy lawyer so he can explain some of the specifics that you have to learn first before filing. The lawyer will have to ask you to undergo counseling or even attend financial management classes since this is a requirement for bankruptcy. The time when everything has been said and done, bankruptcy is an alternative for a lot of people to consider, in obtaining a fresh financial start.

Want a fast and simple debt solution? Find the Real Truth about all of the options available to you and instantly eliminate your debts now HERE.

It seems that more and more people are struggling to pay their bills these days. Bankruptcy is one option that you should consider if your situation is severe enough. However, many people are under the impression that they can no longer file for bankruptcy due to recent changes in bankruptcy law.

It's true that there have been some changes to the bankruptcy code, but it doesn't mean that you can no longer declare bankruptcy. I've spoken to a number of people who were surprised to find out that bankruptcy was still a viable option for their situation.

The new bankruptcy law is known as the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. Yes, I know that's a mouthful. You don't have to know every detail of the bankruptcy code - you can leave that up to your lawyer. What you need to know is that this law makes declaring bankruptcy a more involved process, but most people who would have been eligible before will continue to be eligible.

Perhaps the biggest change is the so called bankruptcy means test. The purpose of this test is to determine whether you can reasonably be expected to pay your debts off without bankruptcy. If your income is below the median income for your state, you don't even have to worry about this test.

However, if your income is higher than the median for your state, then you'll have to go through a more intense process. You'll have to provide documentation of your income and expenses to show that you really can't afford to pay your bills. Otherwise, you might have to settle for chapter 13 bankruptcy in which you agree to a repayment plan instead of simply wiping out your debts.

The goal of a means test is to make sure that people who make more money are not taking the easy way out by declaring bankruptcy. Other changes include mandatory credit counseling and financial management courses. Essentially, Congress, along with your creditors, wants you to do your best to prevent any financial disasters in the future.

You also must make your federal income tax returns available to your creditors if they desire it. Again, the goal is to prove that you're unable to pay your bills with your current income while being able to put food on table.

One more thing you should consider about the new bankruptcy law is the increase in lawyer fees. Because the law is more complex, it will probably require more work from your attorney. This could result in higher costs, which is why you should prepare as much as possible before entering a bankruptcy law office. The more you know beforehand, the less work your lawyer has to do.

Don't let the fear of your debt take over your life. Get the facts about bankruptcy and learn how to get control of your debt. To learn more about changes in bankruptcy law visit us at http://personalbankruptcyquestions.org