If you have decided to file bankruptcy you are
probably wondering what the next step is and how long the case will take to
complete. It is always a good idea to have some working knowledge about the things
that impact your life, and a timeline of events will help you to prepare.
Depending on the type of bankruptcy case you qualify for, your timeline will be
different from someone else’s timing.
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Gathering your financial documents,
including paystubs and all of your bills, and going over them with your
attorney. You will need to have copies of the most recent bill you have
received from each lender, so you can contact the lender for a balance and give
a mailing address for the lender to your attorney. You will also need about the
past 6 to 9 months’ worth of paystubs available, so your attorney can analyze
your debt to income ratio pursuant to the bankruptcy code requirements. It is also
important to have all house and car titles in hand when you sit down to talk
with an attorney about filing a case.
•
Once you have given all of your information
to your attorney, your case will be prepared for filing. As soon as your case
is ready to file, your attorney will ask you to review the documents for
accuracy and if there are no changes needed the case will be filed
electronically. The ability to electronically file gets your case filed right
away, and the benefit of the automatic stay is in place the moment your case is
filed.
•
You will be asked to appear at an initial
creditor meeting shortly after your case is filed, and this is probably the
only time you will need to go to Court during your case, absent extraordinary
circumstances.
•
If you filed a Chapter 7 you can expect
your case to finish in about 4 months, if you filed a Chapter 13 your case can
last up to five years. During those years you will be required to make monthly
payments towards your Chapter 13 Plan and once all of the plan payments have
been made you will receive the bankruptcy discharge.
We understand it is preferable to get things started
sooner rather than later when you are having a hard time paying your bills, and
we work quickly to get your case prepared and filed once we have received all
of your information. If you are ready to talk about how bankruptcy can help you
and have a case filed, call us to schedule an appointment.
If you have more
questions about bankruptcy or need help deciding what to do about overwhelming
debt, contact us at www.law-ri.com. We will help by coming up with solutions that work for you and have
multiple locations to meet your needs for office visits.
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