Our clients rarely know what to expect when they think about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. At the Law Offices of Warner Mendenhall, we provide a client-centered approach. We work with you at every step during the bankruptcy process. For a free consultation, please contact us.
At the initial consultation, you will meet with an attorney to discuss your options surrounding bankruptcy. If you determine bankruptcy is the best option, we can represent you throughout the process. We charge a flat fee that includes all filing costs. If you require a payment plan, we will work with you.
After the initial consultation, you will be asked to complete a credit counseling course. This course will take approximately two hours to complete and the bankruptcy court requires it. We will also give you a questionnaire to fill out and return to us. The questionnaire will ask you questions about your personal financial situation.
When you turn in your completed questionnaire, we ask that you bring any bank statements, pay stubs from the past six months, social security card, and your two most recent tax returns. For a complete overview of what documents we may need, please visit here. If additional information is needed, someone from our office will contact you. Upon receiving your information, we will generate your bankruptcy petition. This may take up to a week to complete.
You will then come back in to finalize and sign your petition. We also offer a way to do this through a computer. At this meeting, one of our attorneys will run through the petition with you to make sure that the information is correct and that all creditors have been listed. You will then sign the bankruptcy petition.
Once we have filed your petition, the bankruptcy court will set a date for a hearing. For a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, this hearing is called a 341 hearing or meeting of creditors. Due to Covid-19, these hearings have been held via teleconferencing. This means that you can participate while you are in your home or at our office.
You will be placed under oath and the trustee will ask you questions about the information on your petition. Rarely, creditors may show up at these meetings and may question you about your petition. There is no need to be nervous about the hearing. Often they are quick, and the trustee will ask you routine questions.
Your debt will then be discharged. If you have questions about either process, contact us, and set up a free consultation.
