Illinois Bankruptcy
The new bankruptcy laws released in the year 2005 require that the debtor should undergo credit counseling before filing for bankruptcy. The debtor should ideally undergo credit counseling six months prior to filing the bankruptcy.
The filing of the bankruptcy under various chapters depends on the income and the expenses. For filing a bankruptcy under Chapter 7 you would have to qualify the means test. With the means test the court looks at your income for the past six months before you file the bankruptcy. The average of this income is calculated and then compared to the median income of the state. If the income is lower than the median income then the person files the bankruptcy under Chapter 7. If the income is more than the median income then other criteria are seen to determine whether the person should file bankruptcy under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.
When a person plans to file bankruptcy in Illinois the first thing that he should do is get all the paperwork ready. You are required to list out the details of your income sources and the financial dealings for the past two years. You are required to give a list of all your debt secured or unsecured and also a list of your assets. You are also required to collect the tax returns for the last two years, documents for the loans, deeds of any real estate transaction etc. Once all this information is assembled then you are required to file the bankruptcy. You can either do it on your own or with the help of an Illinois bankruptcy attorney. Once you have decided on your bankruptcy option then you should check out the list of properties that can be exempted from the seizure. For filing a bankruptcy in Illinois either you or your bankruptcy lawyer would have to file a two-page request at the Illinois district court. In these forms you are required to fill in the basic information about your income and the present financial status.
Ideally the cost of filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Illinois is approximately $274. You cannot escape paying this fee but you can have the option of paying it in installments. The cost of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy is $189. With a Chapter13 bankruptcy the debtor is allowed to keep the ownership of the property and the court would consider the case and allow the person to repay the debts at an interest free plan. The court gives a written document to the debtor, which would define the repayment plans and the duration of repayment. The repayment plan typically starts from 30 to 45 days of starting of the case. In some cases of Chapter 13 bankruptcy people take the help of a trustee in paying off the debt amount. The attorney also helps the debtor to plan out the repayment schedule.
In case you are planning to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy then you are required to submit a payment plan. After you have met with your monthly expenses then whatever amount is left should be used for paying the outstanding bills of the creditors. After you have understood all the details of how a bankruptcy is filed it is advised that you take the help of a bankruptcy attorney. The attorney can be of much help to you while filing bankruptcy. After you have decided on your lawyer then arrange for a personal meeting with him and go over the case. The lawyer is supposed to ask you questions and is also supposed to answer all your queries. The lawyer will help you in deciding which chapter of the bankruptcy will be better in your case and he will also help you in finishing the means test prescribed by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act.
After the lawyer submits your formal request then you are contacted via mail about the meeting date with your creditor, which is called as a 341 meeting in terms of bankruptcy. This meeting is important; as it would make sure that you have been honest in answering the questions on the bankruptcy petition. Besides it also makes sure that you have understood all the conditions and have decided to file a bankruptcy. Besides this it is important that you should have met your lawyer before this meeting so that he can go over all the debts and the situations in the list. You are supposed to mention a list of your assets. Besides the lawyer would also have a set of sample questions that you can rehearse over before going in for the meeting. On the 60th day after your 341 meeting with the creditors is the first deadline for the creditors to file lawsuits to confront the discharge of debts. If they do not file any lawsuits then you would get a notice of discharge of debt under Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which means that you have no compulsion to pay back the discharged debt. In case you have filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case, then you will receive the notice of discharge about 30 to 60 days after your final payment has been made and the trustee makes certain that your payment plan has been monitored and accomplished.
Filing bankruptcy in Illinois can be an easy task if you have the guidance of a good bankruptcy lawyer. The lawyer can make the whole process easy for you and the creditors would need to contact the lawyer instead of bothering you. Taking the help of a lawyer for filing bankruptcy is a very wise decision because there are many legal steps that you might be unaware of.
Other Articles
