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an Everett Bankruptcy
The Bankruptcy Process: Step by Step
Your Rights and Responsibilities
Your bankruptcy case progresses in steps, beginning with the first day you step into our office. We'll immediately work to stop harassment by the debt collectors; if necessary, we will bring a lawsuit on your behalf against them to enforce your legal rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. We'll draft all of your bankruptcy papers and make sure that all necessary documentation is made available. You'll always be involved in the process so that you know exactly the status of your case.
Pre-Filing Counseling Requirement
Before filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you must first complete a pre-filing credit counseling course within 180 days before your case is filed. This course will assist you in performing a budget analysis. We will provide you with a list of approved credit counseling agencies. This course can be completed at your home online within an hour.
Filing Your Case
As soon as your case is filed with the court, a bankruptcy trustee is appointed. The trustee's role is to sell any assets that are not protected by law and to distribute the proceeds of that sale to your creditors. In most cases there are no assets to liquidate, so do not be concerned. Our law firm is experienced to make sure all of your assets are protected before your bankruptcy petition is filed or will advise you of your assets which may not be protected. In most cases, all of your assets are protected in Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.
If you have filed a Chapter 13 case, the trustee is responsible for reviewing your proposed repayment plan, making recommendations to the court regarding the feasibility of that plan, and distributing the payments to your creditors under the terms of the plan. You will send your Chapter 13 payments to the trustee each month, typpically by a wage withholding.
The Automatic Stay
When your bankruptcy petition is filed, an automatic stay is immediately issued by the bankruptcy court to your creditors, prohibiting them from any further contact with you and stopping all collections and/or legal activity against you. This means that all collections letters, harrassing calls, lawsuits, repossessions, and foreclosure proceedings will cease.
However, in cases where you intend to surrender your home or a motor vehicle, your creditor may file a motion with the bankruptcy court to begin proceedings to take possession of your home or automobile and reschedule a cancelled foreclosure sale. This process usually takes several months. Still, you are protected by the automatic stay of any further direct contact from your creditors. Creditor can now only contact you through your attorney. In most cases, you will never hear from your creditors again.
The Meeting Of Creditors
This meeting, which is held in all bankruptcy cases, usually occurs about 4-6 weeks of the filing of your case with the court. The purpose of the meeting is to give creditors a chance to ask questions, although it is very rare that a creditor appears.
This hearing is generally handled by the trustee assigned to your case. The trustee may also ask you questions about particular items on your petition usually focusing on assets or income. Most meetings take only a few minutes.
Some consumers feel some level of anxiety or fear leading up to the meeting with the bankruptcy trustee. However, our law firm will prepare you for this brief hearing and there is no reason to worry about the trustee. This meeting typically takes place in an ordinary conference room, not a courtroom. The trustee is not a judge and the setting is more informal than a regular court hearing. After the meeting, most of our clients comment on how they felt the process was more simple and less stressful than they expected it to be.
Preparing For Your Meeting Of Creditors
You must bring state-issued photo identification and your social security card to your hearing. You may bring an employer W2 or 1099 form (but not your tax return) in lieu of your social security card Your most recently filed fax return, your most recent bank statements, and last 60 days of paystubs. Our law firm will send theseThere are other documents to the trustee ahead of time before your meeting.
Your Confirmation Hearing in Chapter 13 Cases
If you file a Chapter 13 case there is one additional hearing, though in most cases, you need not attend it. This is your confirming hearing and is scheduled after your Meeting of Creditors. At your confirmation the trustee will make a recommendation to the bankruptcy judge regarding whether your proposed Chapter 13 payment plan is sufficient to satisfy the requirements under the Bankruptcy Code and should be confirmed. The judge will then give final approval to your repayment plan or tell us to make adjustments.
How Long Your Bankruptcy Case Takes To Complete
All Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 debtors must complete a post- petition Financial Management Course before they receive a discharge from their debts. In Chapter 7 Cases, this course must be completed within 45 days of your Meeting of the Creditors and can be done anytime after your bankruptcy petition is filed.
In a Chapter 7 case, your case is usually completed approximately 90 days after your Meeting of Creditors; at that time, you will receive a single-page document titled Discharge of Debtor from the court. The discharge order is the official court order relieving you of your obligation to pay your all of your unsecured debts. Remember that the Discharge of Debtor in a Chapter 7 case will not relieve you of all of your debts. Most taxes, your student loans will need to still be paid. Any mortgages and car loans will also still need to be paid if you intend to keep your home or car. Your experienced bankruptcy attorneys advise shich debts, if any, will not be discharged in a Chapter 7 case.
In a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy case, you will receive a discharge order upon your successful completion of your Chapter 13 payment plan. When you receive the discharge order varies depending upon the length and type of your Chapter 13 Plan. It is usually issued after either 3 or 5 years from the filing of your case.
Please note that your bankruptcy case is not necessarily closed after you receive your discharge order. The bankruptcy trustee may be investigating a specific property issue trying to decide if the trustee believe if it is property you can keep and property he may be required to turn over to the trustee to be sold and the proceeds distributed to your creditors. This typically does not happen. In most cases, the trustee will file a Report of No Distribution; meaning you can keep all of your property. Usually this report is file before your discharge order.
Snohomish County bankruptcy lawyer David M. Lux represents individuals throughout the Great Puget Sound Region and Snohomish County, including Everett, Arlington, Mukilteo, Mountlake Terrace,Granite Falls, Bothell, Snohomish, Marysville, Mill Creek, Lynnwood, Mukilteo, Lake Stevens, Monroe, Duvall, and Stanwood, WA.
Call The Everett Debt Doctors Today for a Free Confidential Attorney Consultation: (425) 953-4364