Necessary Information
Whether a
straight bankruptcy, debt consolidation or debt negotiation is
the decided action in dealing with your financial difficulties,
an important contribution you will need to make during the
process will be the gathering and collection of your personal
information.
Documents
Required for Filing: In order to prepare a consumer
bankruptcy case, the client must bring the following documents:
Including all bills in your
possession with name, address, account number and amount owed.
Note: For the last
6 months this includes income from support, social security,
pension or other sources (such as someone paying your living
expenses). Bring documentation showing all household income,
including records of any bonuses, commissions, or other payments
you have received in the last 6 months.
-
INCOME TAX RETURNS
for previous 4 YEARS, if
available.
-
IF YOU OWN REAL ESTATE
or if your name is on property, bring the
following:
-
Appraisal
if you recently had your
property appraised or a broker’s price opinion.
-
Deed
you
received when you bought the property from the prior owner.
-
All
trust deeds
or land sale contract.
-
Most
recent billing statement
for each home loan showing
the balance owed.
-
Proof of insurance
on property (the policy
declaration page).
-
DMV
registration
for each vehicle or boat
-
Vehicle purchase or lease agreement
if you intend to keep the
vehicle.
-
Most
recent billing statement
or a printout showing the payoff balance.
-
Proof of insurance
for each vehicle or
watercraft.
-
BANK STATEMENTS FOR
PAST 3 MONTHS for your checking and savings bank or
credit union accounts and statement for all 401K,
IRA or other retirement plans. Also include the
closing statement from any accounts you have closed in the
past year.
-
DIVORCE – property
settlement agreement if you have been divorced.
-
TRUST DOCUMENTS if
you created a trust or are the trustee or beneficiary of a
trust.
-
CIVIL LAWSUITS –
any complaint you filed or that was filed against you, including
judgments.
-
IF SELF-EMPLOYED –
6 month’s of monthly profit and loss and bank statements for
your business.
Under the FACT Act amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act you
are entitled to one FREE Credit Report in a 12 month period. To
request this FREE credit report you may contact the Central Source
on line at:
www.annualcreditreport.com
-or-
To order your FREE Annual Credit Report by phone
call the Central Source toll free at: (877) 322-8228
Incurring
Debt Just Prior To Filing
Certain debts incurred within 60 days
prior to the filing of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case are presumed
fraudulent and may not be discharged in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy
case. Therefore, it is usually not a good idea to use your credit
cards or incur debt within the 90 day period prior to filing a
Chapter 7 case.
Amendments
An amendment can be used to add any
creditor that you may have forgotten to include in your initial
papers. There will be an additional fee for such amendment.
Property/Assets
It is a common fear that during the
bankruptcy process your creditors or the court will take everything
you own. In most cases, you will not lose any property or assets.
Resist the urge to conceal your assets from your attorney. Your
attorney is your ally and cannot work on protecting assets they
don’t know about.
Bankruptcy
Stay
The moment your bankruptcy petition is
filed and stamped by the court, your assets are protected from your
creditors and all collection activity is stayed.
Credit
Counseling Requirement
Under the new laws, you are required to take two short counseling
courses. The first (approximately 45 minutes) is taken at least a
day prior to filing the case and the second (approximately 1 hr and
45 minutes) is taken after the case is filed but prior to the
closing of the case. The courses can be taken over the internet, by
telephone or in person, whichever is more convenient for you.
Contact information regarding the counseling agency's will be
provided at your consultation.
Call the
Law Office of Brian A. Kretsch to set an appointment for Debt Relief
now.
(619)
696-6629
