Consumer Bankruptcy Chapter 7
					Chapter 7
						However, under the new bankruptcy law (BAPCPA, October, 2005), there are more hoops and hurdles between you and discharge of your debts. The new bankruptcy law has several requirements that you must complete before filing a petition. First, meet with an attorney and discuss options available to you. Second, you will need to complete a credit counseling class with a counselor approved by the United States Trustee (we'll give a list of those approved counselors). You will receive a cercertificate of completion from the counseling class. Give the certificate to your attorney. Third, you must submit pay-stubs for the past seven (7) months to your attorney. Fourth, you must be current on all state and federal tax filings. We will request a copy of your tax returns for the past four (4) years. You are now ready to file a petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Your attorney will prepare a credit report for you gathered from the three major credit reporting agencies. A copy will be provided to you. Please tell your attorney if you are aware of any creditors not listed on the credit report as you are responsible for listing everyone to whom you owe money. You and your attorney will meet for an hour or so and discuss issues such as your income and expenses, assets and liabilities and other things such as anticipated increases or decreases in income or expenses. Your attorney will prepare a final draft of the petition, you review and sign the petition and the petition is ready to be filed. Approximately 35 days after filing the petition, you and your attorney will meet with a Chapter 7 Trustee. The Chapter 7 Trustee is an impartial administrator representing both your interests and the interests of creditors. The Trustee or any interested party (generally creditors) may ask you questions about your debts, financial affairs and property. After the meeting, the Trustee will issue a report to the Bankruptcy Court for further action. If your case is a no-asset case (meaning that your property is exempt), the Trustee will generally issue a statement of 'no assets' to the Bankruptcy Court recommending that your debts be discharged. NB - under the new law, there is one last hurdle: you must complete a financial management education program before your debts are discharged!