Bankruptcy

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a proceeding to find all of the debtor's assets. If any are found, they are sold by a designated trustee and proceeds are distributed to any creditors that the debtor is indebted to repay.

To be eligible to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy it needs to be determined by conducting a means test which was regulated together with the 2005 amendments of the bankruptcy code.

In most cases, all assets are considered exempt, so there's no asset to liquidate and there's no money paid to creditors. The Chapter 7 bankruptcy is generally the quickest form of bankruptcy and is available to individuals, couples, corporations and partnerships.

The case is first started by visiting the court clerk and obtaining the petition, schedules and statements for all of your finances. The forms will give you detailed instructions and what to list. Make sure you list everything on your credit report including your assets and debts, along with your financial history. This can be very time consuming but necessary when filing for bankruptcy. Don't forget you must also pay the filing fee which can be over two hundred dollars to the court clerk.

Make sure that you have every creditor listed in the schedules with an accurate creditor name, telephone number and mailing address. You must list all of your debts, even if the debt is non dischargeable such as a foreclosure or if you intend to repay the debt. The schedules must list all of your real property, any time shares obtained for buying property, and the real value of any property.

After you list all of your debts and creditors you must then decide what you want to have exempted. These items include everything that will give good quality of life including washer and dryers, refrigerators and dishwashers. Once you decided on these items you can then sign the documents.

Once the documents are signed they are then filed with the bankruptcy court clerk and are notified of any hearings or proceedings that are scheduled before a judge if there is a response from any creditors.

For most cases, the debtor and the creditors rights are valid only on the day of filing. All other additions or inclusions that creditors have are excluded in bankruptcy proceedings.