Bankruptcy Law Center > Bankruptcy Planning and Process > I think I need to file. What do I do now?

Set a time to meet with an attorney for your free consultation.
Provide all of the documentation necessary to file your case. We will give you a list of documentation necessary and once we have received all of your documents that we will be able to prepare your case.
Once we have all of your documentation, we will provide you with the information necessary to complete the credit counseling class that is necessary prior to filing your bankruptcy case. It takes about an hour to complete and can be done on the Internet or by phone. You may not file a bankruptcy unless you have completed a credit counseling class within 180 days PRIOR to filing your bankruptcy case.
Once we have prepared the documents called “Schedules” that detail your assets and debts, you will meet with an attorney to review your case and make sure all of the Schedules are accurate.
Once your case is filed with the bankruptcy court, you will be appointed a trustee and given a date for a “Creditor’s Meeting” approximately 45 days after filing your bankruptcy. You must attend the meeting. It is scheduled for approximately an hour, but usually only takes 10 minutes depending on how many other meetings are scheduled at the same time. We will let you know where and when you will need to appear. An attorney will attend the meeting with you and you will need to show your government-issued photo identification (driver’s license or passport is fine) and your social security card (if you do not have one, you can provide an original pay stub). The trustee will ask you any questions he or she has about your financial affairs as of the date of filing your bankruptcy case.
After filing your bankruptcy, you will need to complete a debt management course. It will take approximately one hour of time to complete and can be done via Internet or phone.
If you have filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and there are no assets for the trustee to sell to pay your creditors, you will obtain a discharge from the bankruptcy court within 6 months.
If you have filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you will need to make your Plan payments from the date you file bankruptcy until you have completed your Plan (typically 60 months).
If you have filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, another hearing will be set to confirm/approve your Plan. You need not attend this hearing. Once the Chapter 13 Plan is confirmed/approved, you will continue to make your Plan payments for the duration of the Plan and after you have made all of your payments, you will be granted a discharge by the court.