What should you do after filing a chapter 7 bankruptcy?

Answer 1

As with all legal things, they vary a bit by locale and following the correct the process is vital. The intracasies and complexities can be daunting. Engaging a lawyer, who should explain what is required for your circumstances, is really a good idea.

Before you can file for bankruptcy, you must receive credit counseling from an agency approved by the United States Trustee's office. (For a list of approved agencies, go to the Trustee's website at www.usdoj.gov/ust and click "Credit Counseling and Debtor Education.") These agencies are allowed to charge a fee for their services, but they must provide counseling for free or at reduced rates if you cannot afford to pay. In addition, you'll have to pay the filing fee, which is currently $274, and file numerous forms. The most important part of your Chapter 13 paperwork will be a repayment plan. Your repayment plan will describe in detail how (and how much) you will pay each of your debts. There is no official form for the plan, but many courts have designed their own forms. Following are the steps in the Chapter 13 Wage Earner Bankruptcy process: The process begins similarly to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding, with the filing of a petition by the debtor in the federal Bankruptcy Court. In addition to a list of creditors and a schedule of assets and liabilities and a schedule of current income and current expenditures, the debtor must also file a "Statement of Financial Affairs". This statement must indicate: * Any income of the debtor from employment or operation of business including the amounts and the sources. * Any other income. * A list of all payments made to creditors of consumer debts within 90 days of the commencement of the bankruptcy filing. * A list of all payments made within 1 year of filing to or for benefit of creditors who were insiders (relatives, partners, corporations of which debtor is an officer). * A list of suits to which the debtor is, or was, a party within one year prior to filing. * A list all property attached, garnished, or seized. * A list all property that was repossessed within 1 year before filing. * A list any assignment of property for benefit of creditors within 120 days before filing. * A list of gifts and charitable contributions made within 1 year of filing. * All losses from fire, theft, gambling etc. within 1 year or since the commencement of the action. * Any payments made for debt counseling or bankruptcy (including attorneys). * Any transfers of property made within 2 years before filing. * Any property transferred to a trust within 10 years prior to filing. * All financial accounts that were closed within 1 year. * All safe deposit boxes. * Any setoffs to creditors. * Any property held for another. * All premises occupied within last 3 years. * The names and addresses of spouses and former spouses if the debtor lived in community property state. * Any businesses. It is extremely important that all the forms are completed accurately. Debts that are not listed will not be discharged at the completion of the bankruptcy proceeding. Failing to list assets in an attempt to hide them from creditors may result in serious consequences, including the denial of discharge or charges of bankruptcy fraud. The filing of the bankruptcy petition must be accompanied by a proposed payment plan over three to five years. The proposed payment plan must provide for the payment of all "priority claims" in full unless the particular priority creditor agrees to a different plan or, if the claim is a domestic support obligation, you agree to contribute all of your disposable income to a five year plan. "Priority claims" are those claims that are given a special status under bankruptcy law, such as taxes and the costs of the bankruptcy proceeding. There are limitations on the ability to modify the payments due on home mortgage loans under Chapter 13. The bankruptcy trustee appointed by the Bankruptcy Court must review the proposed plan for accuracy and feasibility. The proposed plan is distributed to creditors who have the right to object to the plan if it is unreasonable. If the plan is approved, the debtor keeps all assets during the period of the plan. The debtor makes monthly payments to the bankruptcy trustee who distributes the funds to the creditors according to the plan. If the plan is completed as approved, the debtor is discharged from unpaid debts. If the proposed plan is not completed as approved, several alternatives are open to the debtor depending upon the reasons for the non-completion of the plan. The bankruptcy trustee may support a modification in the plan if you are unable to complete it, because of circumstances such as serious illness or loss of a job. If the inability to complete the plan is due to circumstances for which you cannot "justly be held accountable," and if your creditors received at least as much as they would have under Chapter 7, and modification is not possible, you can apply for a hardship discharge. The hardship discharge does not apply to debts that were not dischargeable under Chapter 7. See 11 USC 1328(b). If the debtor fails to keep up payments on the plan, creditors may apply to the Bankruptcy Court to terminate the Chapter 13 proceeding by dismissing the proceeding entirely. If the proceeding is dismissed in its entirety, collection efforts against the debtor's assets may resume as before.

Answer 2

Stop doing whatever got you into financial trouble so you had to file bankruptcy, and go to the 341 meeting/first meeting of creditors held by the trustee, answer all questions truthfully, take the post-341 meeting course on financial management and file the certificate proving you did so with the court within 45 days after the 341 meeting, then get your discharge from the court.

Once your case is closed, usually about 6 months from the filing date, start doing what you need to do to improve your credit score: pay all bills on time (no waiting out any grace period), save some money in a bank account every month, get a low -limit credit card and use it, but never charge more than half the limit, pay the full balance before interest accrues each month.