The first step is the consultation. I offer a free one-hour consultation to go over your entire situation and determine if bankruptcy is

the right route for you.

Once you hire me, you’ll need to take an online credit counseling class and get some documents together. You have to take a credit counseling class before you file and another one after your case is filed. They are simple online classes about budgeting. The first one takes about an hour and the second one takes about two hours. Some companies offer the class by phone, but they usually charge more for that. They’ll issue you a certificate that is only good for 180 days. If you think it will take longer than that for you to file, you can wait to take the class until right before your case is filed. However, your case can’t be filed without that certificate.

You’ll need to send me some documents. For most people, that consists of 6 months of bank statements and pay stubs, the last two years of taxes, credit reports, and the most recent car and/or mortgage statement. Most of the paperwork can be downloaded online and emailed over. You can also mail

it to me or drop it off at my office.

Once I have all of the paperwork and you’ve paid my fee, I’ll send you a draft to look over. If nothing needs to be changed, we’ll schedule a signing appointment. We’ll meet over a video chat to review your filing, change anything that needs to be changed, and then I’ll send you a copy to sign. Once you send it back, I’ll file it with the court.

Once the case is filed, the court automatically gives you your case number and assigns you a date to meet with a trustee. The meeting is generally scheduled four weeks after your case is filed. It is the only appearance most people have to make and it’s over Zoom, so you don’t even have to go to court.

You have 60 days after you meet with the trustee to take your second credit counseling class. You can take it before you meet with the trustee if you want to. Most people get their discharge about 60 days after they meet with the trustee and their case closes a few days later. If you haven’t paid your filing fee by then, the court will give you another 30 days to get it paid. Once you pay the fee, they’ll grant your discharge and close the case. If your trustee decides to sell some of your assets, the trustee wants to wait for you to file your taxes, or a creditor objects to your discharge, your case could stay open longer. These things rarely happen, though and we’ll usually know if there’s a risk before the case is filed.