One thing we hear almost daily from our clients is how they wish they would have filed for bankruptcy sooner. They wish they would have pushed aside all of their preconceived ideas about filing and the negative stigmas and gone with their gut.

So, you are preparing to file Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. You have hired a licensed and local Chapter 13 Bankruptcy attorney in your state. You have not called any out of state companies and you have dismissed any law firm that would have you meet with a paralegal.

Many debtors have co-debtors on the debts they owe. For example, debtor may have had a relative or friend co-sign their vehicle loan. If debtor does not pay on the loan, bank will look to co-signor for payment. Co-debtor or a co-signer is a person who pledges their liability on the loan should debtor refuse to or not be able to pay on the loan. Banks routinely ask for co-signers as a way of protecting the loan and making sure the bank is repaid. Co-signing is a form of collateral for the bank, protection against the loan going unpaid if you will.

Think about this for a moment. Can a creditor write in a contract, any contract, that you waive your right to file bankruptcy on this debt/contract, and therefore, further protect creditor’s ability to get paid back on a debt? Wouldn’t this be clever for a creditor to do this? Wouldn’t all creditors do this? If this were possible, and enforceable, all lawyers for creditors would be committing malpractice if they failed to write a provision into every contract waiving debtor’s right to file bankruptcy on this debt.

After a Chapter 13 341 meeting, what happens next? There are a variety of things that can happen after a Chapter 13 341 meeting. One of those events that could happen is a creditor may bring what we call a motion for relief from the automatic stay.

People often want to know what happens after a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy hearing. The next step is a confirmation hearing where the bankruptcy court approves or “confirms” the Chapter 13 Bankruptcy plan. But, prior to the confirmation hearing, creditors also have a chance to object to debtor discharging debts with creditor for certain reasons identified in Section 523 of the Bankruptcy Code.

Section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code requires debtor(s) to submit to an examination, under oath, by the Chapter 13 trustee, or a representative of the trustee. The general purpose of the meeting is for the trustee to examine the debtor and debtor’s schedules to make sure all debtor(s) assets and debts are listed on the schedules and that debtor has listed all of her income and expenses as well. Part of the function of a Chapter 13 trustee is to determine whether debtor(s) schedules and proposed plan comply with federal bankruptcy law.

I have often described Chapter 13 Bankruptcy like a “government sponsored debt consolidation plan”, because that is what it is. In simple terms, the function of a Chapter 13 trustee is to collect funds from debtor(s) and disburse those funds to debtor(s)’s creditors based on an approved plan. Now, the trustee must examine the schedules, and the plan, to make sure the proposed plan complies with all legal requirements under the law. If the plan does not, the Chapter 13 trustee’s job is to object to debtor’s plan until it does.

Section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code requires debtor(s) to submit to an examination, under oath, by the Chapter 13 trustee, or a representative of the trustee. The general purpose of the meeting is for the trustee to examine the debtor and debtor’s schedules to make sure all debtor(s) assets and debts are listed on the schedules and that debtor has listed all of her income and expenses as well. Part of the function of a Chapter 13 trustee is to determine whether debtor(s) schedules and proposed plan comply with federal bankruptcy law.

If you are looking for a bankruptcy attorney in Mankato, Minnesota, it pays to look at the law firm’s website first. Only select the law firm with the LARGEST Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy website in Minnesota. Why would you want to research bankruptcy on a bare bones site when you can research to your hearts content on Minnesota’ LARGEST Chapter 7 and 13 Bankruptcy website?

Yes, you do. As part of the bankruptcy law changes handed down in 2005, Congress now requires each debtor in bankruptcy to have to go through a US Trustee qualified credit counseling and obtain a certificate (which gets filed with the bankruptcy court) prior to filing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. If you fail to complete this course and file a certificate with the bankruptcy court, your bankruptcy case will get dismissed. Crazy stuff right?

Once the decision to file Chapter 13 Bankruptcy has been made, there are documents that you should gather to make the process of filing bankruptcy easier. We already know that credit reports and asset reports should be pulled as part of the process. But, there is more information that is needed by your attorney. If you would like to be your attorney’s hero, starting gathering these documents now.

When you invoke the power of the bankruptcy court, seeking protection from your creditors, you also have duties as well. Section 521 of the Bankruptcy Code outlines many of these duties. Chapter 13 debtors must file a host of schedules with the bankruptcy court and these schedules are verified under penalty of perjury. As such, these schedules must be complete and accurate. Filing inaccurate or incomplete schedules with the bankruptcy court may result in debtor being denied confirmation of the Chapter 13 plan, and worse, a denial of discharge or being charged with bankruptcy fraud.

The first step in filing a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is to find a competent and local bankruptcy attorney who can represent you in your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy case. There are two major pitfalls to avoid in searching for competent instate licensed and local bankruptcy attorney.

If you were to file a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and you had transferred an asset to anyone within two years prior to the time you filed the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, you are going to run into Section 548 of the Bankruptcy Code and you will not like it.

Section 547 of the Bankruptcy Code covers preferences. Think of a preference like this- on the eve of filing bankruptcy, you preferred one creditor over another by paying one creditor and not the others. There are, generally speaking, two types of preferences.