Bankruptcy: The Filing Process
It’s a lot easier than you think to file bankruptcy in Salt Lake City.
This is a basic outline of the bankruptcy filing process in Salt Lake City (for my office, anyway):
- The first thing that will happen is you and I will have a phone conversation so we can introduce ourselves and I can get a good feel for your situation, answer any questions you may have for me, explain the upfront payment needed to file your case, and decide together which kind of bankruptcy (Chapter 7 or Chapter 13) would best fulfill your needs. At this point, it’s a good idea to start putting together a full and detailed inventory of all your assets to prepare for the next step.
- Once you have the funds required to file your case, you’ll get in touch with me to schedule our first in-person appointment. Once your appointment is set, I will email you the list of paperwork to bring and directions to my office.
- Our first meeting will run around 90 minutes so we can go over everything and make sure all your questions are answered, and determine whether or not bankruptcy really will benefit you.
- Next, if bankruptcy is the way to go, you will pay the fee and my paralegal will file your case.
- After your case has been filed, you will have around a month before we attend a meeting, usually only a few minutes, with a trustee. At that time, the trustee will review the paperwork and ask you some simple questions.
The steps that follow are based on what kind of bankruptcy you are filing. If you file chapter 13, you will start making your payments at that time and for the next three to five years, at which time the remaining balance will be eliminated. If you are filing chapter 7, you don’t have to do anything until your debts are officially discharged, which takes sixty days.
