THE BANKRUPTCY PROCESS

STEPS TO YOUR FINANCIAL FREEDOM

          I am dedicated to helping people with financial difficulties. Your financial independence and peace of mind, is my primary concern. I will work with you to protect your assets, and to ensure your successful discharge of dischargeable debts. Working closely with you is the key to a successful bankruptcy case, and ensuring that you receive the bankruptcy discharge, and protect your assets. Call me for your Free Consultation. Get started on getting rid of your dischargeable debt and start rebuilding your credit with the eight step program for your financial independence.

FIRST STEP:

          You will have a Free Consultation at my office. I will provide personal counseling to you, and we will discuss your individual situation. We will review your bankruptcy checklist that you have filled out, and your bills from creditors. I will review your documentation and I will evaluate whether bankruptcy is the best option for you. We will also discuss alternatives to bankruptcy, and we will develop a plan for your financial independence and freedom from debt. If bankruptcy is the best option for you, then I will discuss the benefits and the consequences of filing for bankruptcy. I will also explain to you what property you are allowed to keep in bankruptcy, and I will advise you on what is called "bankruptcy exemption planning" in which I will explain to you how you may legally take the property that you are not allowed to keep in bankruptcy and convert it into property that you are allowed to keep. In most bankruptcy cases, you will successfully get rid of all of your dischargeable debt and you will be able to keep all of your property. This could include your home and car. It is not your fault that you have to file for bankruptcy to deal with abusive collection agencies who refuse to work with you even though you want to pay them. I will also evaluate whether you may sue collection agencies and make them pay for their unlawful collection letters and harassment against you.

SECOND STEP:

          You will take the required Pre-Bankruptcy Credit Counseling Class, either over the Internet, Telephone, or In Person, before filing for bankruptcy, and bring in your completion certificate to my office.

THIRD STEP:

          I will prepare the bankruptcy petition that will be filed with the court. Your petition will be prepared in close consultation with you to ensure that your petition is accurately prepared. This ensures that your petition is free of errors and mistakes that could affect your case.

FOURTH STEP:

          You will have a consultation to review your bankruptcy petition that we have prepared. We will review the petition together, and I will explain to you the schedules in the petition, and I will answer any questions that you may have, so that you will be able to properly answer the questions that you will be asked under oath.

FIFTH STEP:

          When you are comfortable that your bankruptcy petition is complete, I will  file it electronically with the court. You will then receive a mailed notice from the court, which will contain the date of your Section 341 meeting with the Trustee. This meeting date, which you are required by law to attend, will be scheduled approximately six weeks from the date that you receive the notice from the bankruptcy court. Now you are under the protection of the automatic stay, and generally, creditors are stopped from contacting you or continuing with any litigation against you to collect a debt. All wage garnishments, the freezing of your bank accounts, evictions, foreclosures, collection actions, harassing telephone calls, and other collection activity against you, must stop.

SIXTH STEP:

          I will counsel you and prepare you for the Section 341 meeting with the United States Trustee. I will explain to you what will happen at the Section 341 meeting and the questions that will be asked of you. Because I personally attend these meetings, I will be able to tell you the types of questions that will be asked of you and I will give you helpful hints on how to answer these questions. You will feel comfortable at the Section 341 meeting because I will tell you the types of questions that will be asked of you, beforehand.

SEVENTH STEP:

          We will together attend the mandatory Section 341 meeting of creditors, in which you are asked questions regarding your finances under oath. You will already have been prepared for these questions that are being asked of you by the United States Trustee. The Trustee may ask you questions regarding whether you have ever owned any property such as a house, co-op, land, cars, pensions, IRA, 401k plans, insurance policies, cash, bank accounts, lawsuits, possible tax refunds, as well as income from pensions, government assistance, child support, and other expenses as listed in your petition.

You may review a sample of the questions that are frequently asked at the 341 Meeting.

The Trustee is also required to ask you and to ensure that you have reviewed both the Trustee Information Sheet and the 342(b) Notice before he allows the meeting to end.

EIGHTH STEP:

          Completing the Section 341 meeting is the most important part of your bankruptcy case. Your creditors and the Office of the United States Trustee then have sixty days to object to the discharge of your debts. If any creditor does contact you regarding your debts, you should fax or mail them a copy of your letter from the bankruptcy court , and be sure to keep proof of your fax or mailing to them. Creditors who continue to contact you, may be held responsible for damages.

NINTH STEP:

          After the meeting of creditors you will attend the mandatory Post-Bankruptcy Personal Financial Management Class of your choice from certified list of providers.

TENTH STEP:

          After the required time period has passed uneventfully, you will receive a notice within a few months from the bankruptcy court that you have received a discharge of your dischargeable debt. This notice means that you have successfully completed your bankruptcy, and you have received the bankruptcy discharge.

RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO YOU:

          Your assistance from my office does not end with the successful completion of your bankruptcy. You will receive resources for rebuilding your credit and improving your credit score to help you qualify for a home mortgage, credit cards, and car loans. Just because you filed for bankruptcy, does not mean that you should not work to obtain credit, and use it wisely. Review my Links section for my Resources to Rebuild your Credit after Bankruptcy.

          Sometimes, Filing for Bankruptcy with my office is the fastest way to rebuild your credit, because it can leave you debt free, confident, and secure in the knowledge that you have received a fresh start to rebuild and plan for a stable and successful financial future.

Jacob Silver, Attorney At Law

Office Address

1225 Franklin Avenue Suite - 325 Garden City, NY 11530

 

Telephone

(516) 374-1452

 

Fax

(718) 797-4141

 

Electronic mail

General Information: silverbankruptcy@gmail.com