A Step By Step Guide Filing Bankruptcy

By Lila Barry


One of the most desperate but scarring decisions that one can be able to make in his lifetime would be filing bankruptcy which means that he has absolutely no more money. Now this would only happen if one has too many debts and his total assets have no way of covering up all of the debts that he has occurred. Of course by being declared bankrupt, one will already have a scarred credit rating and will lose a lot of financial privileges.

By being declared bankrupt, one is now able to escape all of his creditors although there is still a significant chance that he will not be discharged from all his debts. For this sole reason, he should first be able to find himself a really good lawyer. He should get a really intelligent and credible attorney who can handle a case like this.

Now when one first goes to the attorney, he must bring all his financial documents for the viewing and analysis of the lawyer. This will include all his bills, loans, and of course his tax returns. The lawyer must also get all the bank statements that are up to six months back.

Once all of the documents have been shown to the lawyer, the lawyer must now help his client create a petition which is basically a long list of all of the debts the client has occurred. The only thing to remember when making this petition is to never give false information. This act is against the law and will result in immediate imprisonment.

After the lawyer has gone through all of the paperwork, he will discuss which debts can be discharged and which ones will stay after being bankrupt. The thing about debts is that not all of them can be erased even after being bankrupt. However, debts like delinquent taxes and student loans are very hard to be erased.

Included in the petition should also be a list of all of the revenues that the client has earned in those past six months. This is the basis in which the court will be able to tell if a person is bankrupt or just faking it. Now revenues means all kinds of income like the active ones, the passive ones, and the bonuses.

When all of the paperwork is done, then the lawyer may now allow the client to sign the documents. When all the signatures have been provided, then the last part would be to file the petition using an online system. After that, a notice to the creditors must be given regarding this issue so that they will cease to collect from the debtor until the results of the hearing.

The last part of the filing bankruptcy process would be to go to a court hearing. The debtor will be meeting up with all of his creditors in a Meeting of Creditors in which the judge will decide on the verdict. If the debtor wins, then all the creditors will have no choice but to discharge all the debts.




About the Author: