When people are dealing with financial hardships, there are many negative impacts that brings with it. As debts start to increase, the mental anguish rapidly increases as well. One of the biggest stresses most Americans deal with is finances---or lack thereof. As the debts build, the possibility of missing payments comes along with it. As payments start to being missed, negative inquiries are reported to the credit bureaus, annoying phone calls from creditors begin, late notices are mailed out, and eventually this leads to lawsuits, judgements, wage garnishments, bank levies, and abstract of judgments (aka liens) filed on your home.

The last thing a person needs when they are in a financial hardship as described above is to deal with a stressful and unorganized process to clear that debt. Our team at Modesto Bankruptcy Attorneys has developed an aggressive and streamlined 5 step process to assist you in the process of filing for bankruptcy relief and getting a fresh start.

Step 1: Free Consultation with one of our dedicated Bankruptcy Attorneys

After you contact our office, you will be scheduled for a FREE consultation with one of our highly knowledgeable bankruptcy attorneys. During this consultation, our attorneys will take the time to listen to your personal situation and fully understand what your goals are. This is very important so we can understand what led us to this current situation and where you are trying to go.

The attorney will then gather relevant and detailed information about your finances. Once the information has been presented, the attorney will now be able to provide you a detailed analysis of the options that you have and whether a bankruptcy filing would be advantageous to you. During that analysis, the attorney will further explain which Chapter of Bankruptcy makes more sense for you and how that specific Chapter will work for you better than the other. The attorney will take the time to answer any questions that you have or clarifications that you need so that you are fully comfortable with this decision.

One of the biggest decisions our attorneys will help you make during this consultation is which Chapter of Bankruptcy you should proceed with. Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings are reserved for those that do not have enough monthly income to cover their reasonable and necessary expenses + their unsecured consumer debt. If their monthly reasonable and necessary expenses are greater than their monthly income, they don’t have any remaining funds to cover their consumer debt. In this situation, considering Chapter 7 is a possibility. In a Chapter 7, you authorize the Bankruptcy Court to take your non-exempt assets from you, sell them, and use those funds to pay the unsecured debt. Our office will explain what, if any, of your assets are actually in danger of being liquidated. Ultimately, the Chapter 7 is filed in order to receive a Discharge at the end of the case. The Discharge eliminates your personal obligation to pay certain debts. This entire Chapter 7 process generally lasts approximately 4 months.

On the flip side, a Chapter 13 is reserved those that would prefer to enter into a court administered payment plan. Chapter 13 cases are great for those that wish to avoid liquidation, higher income earners, those that need to cure mortgage delinquencies, those that have large tax obligations that need to be repaid, etc. Upon the completion of your Chapter 13 payments, you would receive a discharge of your remaining debts.

Step 2: Document Gathering

Once you have made the decision to move forward with a Bankruptcy with our office, you will then need to gather certain documents that are required by the Bankruptcy Court. Our legal team will provide you a detailed questionnaire that lists out exacly what we will need to ultimately prepare your Bankruptcy Petition and related documents. If you ever have questions about the documents or need assistance, you will have the ability to speak with our team of Bankruptcy Attorneys or Lead Paralegal and Case Manager at your convenience. Once the documents are gathered in full, you will then provide those documents to our office for review.

Step 3: Our Legal Team prepares your Bankruptcy Petition and Related Documents

The next step in your bankruptcy process is for our Legal Team to take the documents and information you provided us and prepare your Bankruptcy Petition and related documents. These documents will include a list of your assets, liabilities, income, expenses, and other personal information. In general, here is a list documents we will prepare on your behalf for your bankruptcy case:

  • Voluntary Petition for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy

  • Summary of Your Assets and Liabilities and Certain Statistical Information

  • Schedule A/B

  • Schedule C

  • Schedule D

  • Schedule E/F

  • Schedule G

  • Schedule H

  • Schedule I

  • Schedule J

  • Declaration About an Individual Debtor’s Schedules

  • Statement of Financial Affairs for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy

  • Disclosure of Compensation of Attorney for Debtor

  • Chapter 7 Statement of Your Current Monthly Income – Chapter 7 Only

  • Chapter 13 Statement of Your Current Monthly Income – Chapter 13 Only

  • Statement of Intention for Individuals Filing Under Chapter 7 – Chapter 7 Only

  • Chapter 13 Plan – Chapter 13 Only

  • Rights and Responsibilities – Chapter 13 Only

Once our Legal Team has prepared a draft of the above documents for you, we will provide you a copy of the draft for review.

Step 4: Review Bankruptcy Petition with one of our dedicated Bankruptcy Attorneys

Now that the draft has been created and you have had a chance to review it, you will now review the documents together with one of our dedicated Bankruptcy Attorneys. Our Bankruptcy Attorneys will ensure that you fully understand each of the documents and answer any questions that you have in regards to the documents. Moreover, you and our Bankruptcy Attorney will review the documents to confirm the complete accuracy in each document.

Once all of your questions are answered and the documents are 100% accurate, we will now have a final product ready for your signatures. You will then sign and date the required documents and we will now be ready to file your Bankruptcy case!

Step 5: Our Legal Team files your Bankruptcy case!

With all of your questions answered and the Bankruptcy Petition and related documents signed and dated, our Legal Team will now file your Bankruptcy Case directly with the United States Bankruptcy Court. Upon the filing, we will instantly provide you with your Bankruptcy Case Number and you will officially be in an active Bankruptcy Case.

How can we help?

Our Legal Team at Modesto Bankruptcy Attorneys fully understands the stress and difficulties that come along with financial hardships. Knowing that, we use our experience and knowledge to make the Bankruptcy process as streamlined and smooth as process so you don’t have additional unnecessary stresses to deal with. Please contact our office by clicking HERE or by calling 209-314-3010 to schedule your Free Consultation with one of dedicated Bankruptcy Attorneys.