Before you file bankruptcy, you must complete a credit counseling course from an approved agency no more than 6 months before you file. To complete this course, please go to www.cfefa.org. Once you have completed this course, you will need to provide the certificate of completion to your attorney for inclusion with your bankruptcy petition.
Within 3 months of filing, you should avoid using credit cards at all. Do not use them to take out cash advances or to buy luxury items in this time period. Doing so gives rise to a presumption of abuse and possible bankruptcy fraud.
Once your case is filed, regardless of whether it is a chapter 7 or 13, a court official called a trustee will be appointed to determine if you are eligible for bankruptcy, if you have any assets that may be liquidated, to ensure all parties entitled to notice of your have been listed, to check on the accuracy of your papers, and to generally oversee the progress of your case.
Within 1 month of filing your case, you will have a meeting of creditors. At that meeting, you and I will meet with the bankruptcy trustee for a short, five to ten minute interview during which the trustee will ask basic questions to verify the data in your bankruptcy petition.
The length of the remainder of your case will depend on whether you filed a chapter 7 or 13, and whether you have any assets. If you filed a no asset chapter 7 (a chapter 7 case in which your liabilities exceed the value of your assets), then your case could be discharged and closed within four to six months of filing. If you filed a chapter 7 case with assets (liabilities do not exceed the value of your assets), then your case will last longer depending on whether or not the trustee decides to liquidate the assets, and how long it takes to do so. Chapter 13 cases entail repayment plans that last for three years if your income is below the state median, or five years if your income is above the median.
To determine if your income is above or below the state median, go to http://www.legalconsumer.com/bankruptcy/means-test/state.php?st=CA.
