It is certainly common knowledge that the economy has dealt out some harsh truths in the past decade. Everyone who owns property saw a loss due to the housing downturn and the job market has been flooded with all of the people who were victims of corporate cost cutting that downsized the workforce.
The problems that begin with the loss of a job seem to escalate rather quickly once there is not enough money to keep up with the monthly bills. More people are finding that their only course of action may be to file for bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy laws were put in place to allow debtors the opportunity to discharge some or all of their debts and to get a new start with their financial lives. The type of bankruptcy case that discharges debt is known as Chapter 7.
Filing for Chapter 7 is a federal filing, bankruptcy courts are part of the federal government and not branches of the individual states. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Des Moines IA can be handled by a specialty attorney who is very well versed on the laws regarding Chapter 7.
The first steps in getting your case ready will involve a lot of paperwork and assembling of documents. Your attorney will give you a packet of worksheets to fill out and lists of financial documentation that will need to be collected. The process of getting your case organized may remind you of preparing to file your taxes. The organization and documentation is a very important phase of your bankruptcy filing.
You will have several meetings with your bankruptcy attorney and they will always be able to keep you informed about the status of your case. When all of your papers are assembled and your case has been submitted to the US Trustee, you will have your creditors meeting.
For most consumers, there is only one court appearance for their bankruptcy case and when no creditors appear at the US Trustees meeting, the court hearing can be as short as five minutes.
Each person is unique and the facts that are specific for your case will determine how your Chapter 7 progresses through the courts.
