Delaware Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Lawyer
Filing bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code liquidates most debt. The new rules for bankruptcy were set in place in 2005, and the rules, as all laws do, change as needed. Retain a Delaware bankruptcy lawyer to help you file for a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy. Even if a debtor thinks he or she makes too much money to file Chapter 7, he or she should see a Delaware bankruptcy attorney anyway. The attorney will explain the debtor’s rights to him or her and will be able to tell the debtor about deductions that may bring his or her income below the new threshold.
Filing Chapter 7
- File a petition with the bankruptcy court in the proper jurisdiction
- File a schedule of assets and liabilities
- File a schedule of current income and expenditures
- File a statement of financial affairs
- File a schedule of executory contracts and unexpired leases
The Law Office of Vivian Houghton is experienced in filing the proper petition and schedules and will fill out the schedules for you. Some bankruptcy courts request or require electronic filing. A Delaware bankruptcy lawyer has the proper software to upload the petition and schedules to the bankruptcy court.
Get the Proper Documents Ready
Once the petition is filed, a trustee is assigned to the debtor’s case. The debtor will need to provide certain information to the trustee. This information is given to the debtor’s attorney who then provides the required documents to the trustee.
- Provide the trustee (via the debtor’s attorney) with a copy of the most recent year’s tax return
- Provide a certificate of counseling
- Provide a copy of evidence of payment from employers
- Provide a statement of monthly net income, including any anticipated increase in income or expenses after filing
- Provide a record of interest in any federal or state qualified education or tuition accounts
Provide the Filing Fee
Provide the filing fee to the Delaware bankruptcy lawyer. This fee is not kept by the Delaware bankruptcy attorney; it must be filed with the debtor’s petition. If a debtor has a problem coming up with the fee, he should explain the situation to the attorney, who can then help obtain installments for the filing fee, if needed. Under certain circumstances, the court may waive the required filing fee.
*Based on petitions filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, since January 2021.
