Capabilities
As a full service firm, we see how divorce, bad business decisions,
personal injury, or job loss can cause significant financial problems.
No one is immune. Remember large corporations file for bankruptcy
protection every day. If the large companies with paid financial handlers
have problems, individuals are sure to have much of the same.
Also remember that bankruptcy does
not mean that you lose everything. Cars and homes may have insufficient
equity (value you own) and therefore, you may keep them. Your property
is valued at "garage sale" value, i.e., what would you get
if you sold it today at a garage sale. The courts permit you to keep
up to $4,000.00 of personal property and $7,500.00 of real property.
Your retirement is also normally protected. Taxes may even be discharged
if they have been due for a period of time.
In most cases, bankruptcy is actually
a simple process. We first meet with you to determine all of your
debts, assets, budget, and prior and current income. Everything must
be disclosed. We may send you home with a worksheet for additional
information. Once you have provided us with the additional information,
your information is entered into our computers for generation of your
multi-page petition. Usually a phone conference is held at that time
if any problems may appear. The petition is then corrected, printed,
and you must sign all the appropriate pages.
The filing fee for Chapter 7 cases
is now $200.00. Our attorney's fees are based on your number of creditors.
We file your petition and your hearing is usually scheduled by the
court within a month. Hearings are scheduled usually at a rate of
5 - 8 a half-hour. This could vary depending on your petition, but
with many other people going through the same process, you may understand
why the hearings are usually short. At the hearing the trustee appointed
to your "estate" (your estate consists of all of your assets
and debts) will ask questions about your petition, whether you included
everything in the petition, verify your name, address, and social
security number, what caused the bankruptcy, whether you will reaffirm
your car or your home.
Usually the trustee will determine
the case to be a "no asset" case, which means you may keep
those items in your possession, and you will discharge the debt you
listed unless you have made arrangements with a creditor to reaffirm
your debt. Within a few months, a Notice of Discharge will discharge
your debt and you have your second chance to financially start over.
It can be simple. Please contact us for assistance at 317-848-3355.
