Forms and Documentation

To prepare a bankruptcy petition, a client needs to fill out forms and provide various documents. After your in-person or phone consultation, you will receive a paper packet or an email with all the online links to forms and a secure portal to send documents. We will walk you through this process and are easily accessible for follow-up questions.

When filing Chapters 7 and 13, you can expect to complete a credit report authorization and a questionnaire. The questionnaire is about 35 pages long and includes questions on debts, household goods/assets, the past two years’ income totals, the past six months’ specific income, expected future income, household expenses, and a variety of other questions that help give the trustee and the court an understanding of your overall financial situation.

Before a bankruptcy case can be filed, the court requires a credit counseling course to be taken online. This can be done at home or in our office. This is less of a course and more a set of questions similar to our questionnaire and, in the end, gives the client an analysis of their debt versus their income. Our office pays for this through a code we will send you, and we automatically receive the certificate of completion when done.

Finally, there are copies of key documents that are needed and are submitted to the trustee. These include bank statements, pay stubs, tax returns, a social security card, and a picture ID.  Chapter 7 clients have additional document requirements. This list of documents will be given to you at your consultation or emailed to you. Documents can be uploaded to a secure portal, emailed, or brought into the office.

The process and paperwork may seem daunting, but when needed, it can move quickly. We move at the speed you need and are willing to answer questions that arise.