blakesmommie asked:
Hi, we have bankruptcy court this Friday. Our lawyer is doing nothing to help us prepare. For one he has only talked to us 2 times, when i call to try and discuss re-affirming with creditors, he is never “available”. What are we going to be up against in court? Are we going to be ambushed by our creditors? And how long does court usually last? And do you do all the re-affrimation papers there, or do you do them with the creditors at a later date? We paid the lawyer 1500.00 to do this, and he hasnt helped us at all. At first he told us that we would have no problem with collateral on a personal loan, 3 weeks ago we were told that we either reaffirm, or loose the stuff. When i went and asked him about it, i reminded him that he told us that this wouldnt be a problem, and his comment was “Well it’s a problem now” So what do we have to look foward to, and any advise on the lawyer?
Hi, we have bankruptcy court this Friday. Our lawyer is doing nothing to help us prepare. For one he has only talked to us 2 times, when i call to try and discuss re-affirming with creditors, he is never “available”. What are we going to be up against in court? Are we going to be ambushed by our creditors? And how long does court usually last? And do you do all the re-affrimation papers there, or do you do them with the creditors at a later date? We paid the lawyer 1500.00 to do this, and he hasnt helped us at all. At first he told us that we would have no problem with collateral on a personal loan, 3 weeks ago we were told that we either reaffirm, or loose the stuff. When i went and asked him about it, i reminded him that he told us that this wouldnt be a problem, and his comment was “Well it’s a problem now” So what do we have to look foward to, and any advise on the lawyer?
Tags: Bankruptcy Court, Lawyer, Personal Loan
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:00 am
What to Expect Before, During, and After Bankruptcy
Although individual experiences may differ depending on local court regulations, state laws, and the rules of civil procedure, most bankruptcies proceed along similar lines. Here is a chronology of the most common bankruptcy proceedings. The order of events and steps taken is generally consistent in most bankruptcies.
Bankruptcy Petition
This is an intricate document that includes a description and categorization of the outstanding debts. Because the filing requirements are strict, a lawyer usually prepares the document. Preparing and filing the petition is usually the most difficult part of the process.
The petitions are made under Chapter 7, Chapter 11, or Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. Chapter 7 discharges individual debts; Chapter 13 allows individuals to pay down debt over time; and Chapter 11 deals with business reorganization.
(There are also other forms that deal with farms, railroads, and municipalities.)
Automatic Stay
Once the petition is filed, federal law imposes an automatic stay that stops creditors from taking action to collect debts, including tax debts and court judgments. For example, if the debtor has been served with a lawsuit by a creditor and is expected to appear in court, the lawsuit is stopped by the bankruptcy filing. Within a month, the bankruptcy court will send out a Notice of Filing and a Notice of Stay to the creditors, making it illegal for the creditors to continue trying to collect, although they are allowed to contact the debtor’s legal representative. Debtors who are contacted before the notices go out should inform their creditors that they have filed, and give them the bankruptcy court docket number.
Creditors’ Meeting
Thirty- to 45-days after filing, the debtor is required to attend a meeting presided over by the assigned bankruptcy trustee. This meeting is generally brief, provided that there is nothing to suggest to the trustee that the case is unusual. The trustee will ask the debtor a few standard questions, and then formally ask if there are any creditors present. Generally, most creditors will not be there, although some credit card providers attend these meetings.
If nothing unforeseen happens at the creditors’ meeting, much of the bankruptcy process is now over for the debtor. Debtors seeking a Chapter 7 Petition will be sent a discharge notice in approximately six weeks. If they’re filing under Chapter 13, they’ll receive Notice of Confirmation in about the same time, after which they can begin making payments.
Creditors
who take issue with any aspect of the debtor’s petition are allowed a reasonable amount of time to file an adversary proceeding; doing so acts as a request for the bankruptcy court to refuse to discharge a particular debt. Creditors must accompany their request with a list of reasons for the request. Fraud is the most common reason, whether it occurred while incurring the debt or during the bankruptcy process. Similar to regular litigation, this may take some time to resolve. The discharge of the debts will be delayed until the adversary proceeding is resolved.
Credit Counseling
One of the most drastic reforms in the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) of 2005 is the requirement that the debtor consult with a court-approved, nonprofit budget and credit counseling agency within 180 days of the bankruptcy filing.
Notice of Discharge
If there is no trouble with the debtor’s Chapter 7 Petition, or once the debtor has paid creditors under a Chapter 13 plan, and assuming that all adversary proceedings have been resolved, the debtor will receive a Notice of Discharge. There may be some forms required to get a judgment removed, but other than bookkeeping matters the debtor has at this point been given a fresh start.
Timeline
The length of the bankruptcy process varies from case to case. It can range from a few months to four or five years. Chapter 13 plans typically call for a three- or five-year timeline. Adversary proceedings are uncertain, though most bankruptcy courts attempt to quickly move them through the system.
** NOTE: Just because you want to reaffirm an account, the company can turn you down – it is their right and it is also included in any contract you originally signed.
December 3rd, 2009 at 6:34 am
This is NOT A BIG DEAL, No creditors will show up.
you will sit in a small court room with 100s who are doing the same thing. He should be doing his job, if he doesn’t you can sue him when it is over. We had personal loans with household goods as collateral, we didn’t reaffirm and we lost nothing. We reaffirmed our cars and house, the rest even payday loans were wiped clean.
Our lawyer was very good and explained everything to us.
I am sorry your attorney is acting like that. you need to get stuff in writing. If you don’t reaffirm a car loan, you will loose the car and with in a week after finalization, they will come get it. they will send you a notice or call you first so you can get your stuff out of it. It took us 10 minutes, they asked us if everything on the paper work was correct,verified that we knew what we were doing, verified our income, we signed some papers infront of the judge sitting at a regular desk and
that was it. Sometimes they won’t collect it sometimes they do when it comes to “collateral” depends on if the creditor responds, they have the right to collect it. When you filed he sent a notice to all of your creditors, In our case they were given until a certain date to respond, none did. IF yours did..
Then you will have to pay and reaffirm or loose the collateral.
December 5th, 2009 at 12:51 am
Your first mistake was filing bankruptcy.. most bankruptcy lawyers are low lifes as far as I’m concerned..they are the bottom of the barrel.. couldn’t make it in other legal fields so they are doing bankruptcies..His main concern was getting the $1,500.00 that you could have paid on your bills and probably helped get your finances back on track..