- Before you file your petition for bankruptcy, you will need to gather records that will be necessary for the proceedings. You must file a list of creditors when you file the petition. You must include all creditors, whether you plan to discharge the debt or not. You must include the amount you owe each creditor as well as a mailing address. Failure to include a creditor may prevent discharge of the debt. You will also need copies of your mortgage note or current lease agreement, copies of any contracts or loans you are under obligation to pay, and income tax returns for at least the last two years. You may need additional documentation depending on your specific circumstances.
- Once you have gathered all the records needed for the petition, you must complete an official petition for bankruptcy. In most cases, your attorney will prepare this for you; however, bankruptcy forms are available through the U.S. Courts website (see Resources). Along with the petition, you must file a number of schedules. All petitioners must file the schedule of creditors. Other schedules may also be needed in your case. You must pay a filing fee when you file the petition. You may petition the court to pay the filing fee in installment payments. In limited cases, you may also petition to be declared indigent and have the court waive the filing fee. The court enters an automatic stay when you file the petition, which prevents all creditors from continuing, or initiating, collection efforts on a debt.
- A meeting of creditors will be held approximately 60 days after you file the petition. The meeting of creditors is usually held at the trustee's office assigned to your case and is less formal than a hearing in front of the judge. The meeting of creditors allows creditors to appear and question you under oath regarding your income and assets. The trustee assigned to your case may also question you. After the meeting of creditors, a creditor has a specific amount of time in which to object to a discharge in a Chapter 7 case, or a reorganization plan in a Chapter 12 or 13.
- If you filed a Chapter 7 petition, your case will be discharged about 60 days after the meeting of creditors as long as no one objected to the discharge and there are no other extenuating circumstances. All debts that can be legally discharged are discharged and you no longer owe them. For a Chapter 12 or 13 petition, you must submit a reorganization plan to the court for approval. The reorganization plan tells the court how you plan to pay back the majority of your debt over time. Most plans are three to five years. If the court accepts your plan, you will proceed according to the terms of the plan and your case will be officially discharged when you successfully complete the terms of the plan.
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