When you file for bankruptcy, there is an essential piece of information that you need to disclose. Based on the information, the court will be able to decide which chapter you can file. The information includes your list of creditors and the amount owed to each. After the process of filing is complete, you and your attorney must have a meeting with your creditors. This is known as the 341 meeting. It is normally a forum in which your creditors will be notified of your financial bankruptcy and arrangements made on how the bills will be settled. If you file under chapter 7, your assets should be sold off and the proceeds distributed among your creditors. This is where debt consolidation comes in.  Debt consolidation during bankruptcy is a concept that can help you a great deal in paying much less money to your creditors. It works by bringing all your debts together and calculating a favorable percentage that will work for the benefit of all creditors. What follows is that you have to look for a debt consolidation firm that will act as your representative in the whole transaction. In this case, all your debts are treated as one. This is to say that the trustee who will sell off your assets will only require writing a single check. This is what he or she will send to the consolidation firm, which will then distribute the amount thereof to all your creditors in proportion to the calculated percentage. All you need to do is pay the firm a small fee for the services.

Finding a bankruptcy lawyer can be very difficult and time consuming. Bankruptcy lawyers should offer a free initial consultation to evaluate the financial situation and offer legal advice on the best course of action.

A law forum that deals exclusively in bankruptcy and debt consolidation is better equipped to deal with both chapters 13 bankruptcy and chapter 7 bankruptcies. The yellow pages are a helpful source to find bankruptcy attorneys who are categorized by their field of specialization. Another way to find a qualified bankruptcy lawyer is by referral from those who are more familiar with the field and other attorneys who might make some helpful recommendations.

Due to the duty of confidentiality, the lawyer cannot share information about their current or past clients unless permitted to do so. Talking to close and trusted family friends who can guide the right direction might be of great help. This gives an insight into the lawyer’s competence. The attorney should be considerate about the client’s problem and make him feel comfortable. It is also necessary that the attorney is organized and punctual and work well together.

While the initial consultation is free, the client should honestly explain his or her situation to the lawyer and the lawyer should give a feed back on the situation and on the option thereon. While conversing with the lawyers, the client should find out how long he or she has been practicing the specifics of their specialization, number of cases handled by them approximately and expectation from the attorney in terms of representation. Also, it should be ascertained whether the attorney will personally attend the case or pass it on to a junior lawyer or staff. All such questions can be asked and the Attorney should make sure that the client is comfortable for appointing him or her as the bankruptcy lawyer.

Bankruptcy attorneys specialize in bankruptcy laws and provide legal methods to either wipe out debts by liquidating assets and distributing them among creditors or resolve them by developing a court approved reorganization plan. Bankruptcy lawyers explain the main purposes and application of bankruptcy laws and how they function to relieve the individual and business from indebtedness. A disclosure of all the financial affairs is extremely important in a bankruptcy setting. The lawyer should be kept informed of all the facts. In the worst scenario, failing to disclose information to the court could be a crime. Written documentation of debts and liabilities is important in bankruptcy setting. Bankruptcy lawyers usually specialize either as debtor’s counsel or as creditor’s counsel. Debtor’s counsel will usually charge a flat fee for a single bankruptcy. Creditor’s counsel usually charges on an hourly basis. For filing bankruptcy, hiring debtor’s counsel will hopefully be a one-time experience;

A lawyer may give alternatives as to what can be done and should discuss the possible consequences of each option. If the house is in foreclosure, the need to file a bankruptcy petition is imminent and therefore by the need of the meeting, there should be clear understanding of what has been accomplished.

Anyone person who is a bankrupt is usually unaware of the nuances of legal process involving bankruptcy. Before filing for bankruptcy, the person must collect all the personal financial informations that include a list of all secured and unsecured debts, tax returns for the last 2 years and deeds to any real estate and any other loan documents.

The first and foremost step to be taken by a bankrupt person is to file for bankruptcy through the bankruptcy court, which is a legal process. The next step is to complete the bankruptcy forms called the “schedules” wherein the debtor should describe his or her current financial status and recent financial transactions. The debtor has to choose between chapter 7 and 13. For filing chapter 13 bankruptcy, a proposed repayment plan must be submitted with the petition. Filing bankruptcy can be done by talking to people who have technical information about bankruptcy or better still to visit a bankruptcy lawyer who can guide through the complicated procedure of filing for bankruptcy. The lawyer should be provided with all the personal information to put together and file the voluntary petition.

Once this process is over, the bankruptcy court assigns a trustee to see to it that all the informations are collected and that they are accurate. The next step is to notify the creditors that the debtor is filing for bankruptcy so that they stop all actions they might be taking up against the debtor to get the payments. After this, the next procedure is meeting the various persons who are involved in the bankruptcy case along with creditors and if possible, their lawyers.

An automatic stay goes into effect immediately upon filing the petition with the bankruptcy court which prevents the creditors from making direct contact or staking a claim to any of the debtor’s property from the date of filing. Approximately, a month after filing the bankruptcy petition, the trustee will call the first meeting of creditors, which is known as 341 meeting that requires the presence of the debtor. It is an open opportunity for creditors to question and the debtor is required to respond in full faith.

A creditor must file a proof of claim within 90 days after the first date set for the meeting of the creditors. If there is an excess asset after all the claims are settled, the court may grant an extension of time for filing of claims during the 90-day period. Objections if any are resolved by a negotiation between the debtor and the counsel of the debtor and the creditor. A judge will intervene, if necessary, when a compromise cannot be reached. If there are no hiccups, the debtor receives a notice from the court that the bankruptcy is discharged within 4 to 6 months.

Student loans guaranteed by the government are not dischargeable, that is the student continues to be liable for the payment even if he files bankruptcy. The debtor’s goal is to have as many debts discharged as possible. The ten categories of debts excluded from discharge are divided into 2 areas: debts that are not dischargeable due to the wrongful conduct of the debtor and debts that are dischargeable due to public policy.

If you are a small business owner and you have reached a point where you can no longer pay your creditors, then you might be going into bankruptcy. This is a situation whereby your liabilities are more than your debts and you find it extremely hard to balance your books of accounts. Bankruptcy implies a lot of things but the best thing is that it happens to many people and therefore many ways have been devised on how to deal with it. I know insolvency is a word that sends chills down the spine of many people because it is associated with property loss, stigmatization as well as discrimination. While it is true that it will publicly be known that you can are insolvent, no one should discriminate you on this basis. So what follows after your small business has been declared bankrupt? Probably you are faced with the question whether you should file a case or not. It is advisable to consider all the other available alternatives and only go for this if all else fails.You will most likely have to hire the services of an attorney. Although this calls for extra expenditure, it keeps you on the safe side because an attorney will not only represent you but will also advice you on the best way forward. He will be in a position to explain to you why it is more advisable for you to file for insolvency under chapter 11 or under 7 and not any other chapter. This way, you will be more informed and you will avoid bad risks.

Bankruptcy laws changed in 2005, and many consumers are confused about what they can and cannot do when filing for bankruptcy. The laws made it more difficult, but not impossible, to discharge all of your debts in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Here are some of the main changes that directly affect consumers.

First, not everyone can file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. If you make too much money, you will have to file Chapter 13 and make an attempt to repay your debt. In order to determine whether or not you are able to apply for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, you will need to compare your income to the average income of families of the same size as yours in your state. As long as it is equal to or below the average, you can still file for Chapter 7.

If your income is greater than the average, you will have to pass the “Means Test” to determine if you can file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Under these bankruptcy laws, you must be able to show that your disposable income, minus certain expenses, is truly insufficient to repay your debts. If you cannot pay your debts, you can still file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy under the new bankruptcy laws.

Additionally, the new bankruptcy laws require all individuals who are filing bankruptcy to go through credit counseling with a government approved credit counseling agency. This counseling is used to determine whether or not bankruptcy is truly needed. The government does not care if you can clearly show that you need to file for bankruptcy. You still must attend counseling.

If you have attended counseling, proven that you cannot repay your debts, and showed that your income is not too high, you can still discharge your debts under the new bankruptcy laws. The purpose of the new laws is to prevent people from filing bankruptcy simply because they do not want to go through the trouble of repaying their debts, when in reality they have the money to do so.