When you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, your bankruptcy attorney should provide you with all the paperwork required to start the bankruptcy filing process. Your responsibility is provide your attorney with “all the stuff” necessary to file a case, as well as provide them with the necessary documents that are required to be submitted to the Court and the Trustee in your case. These documents include copies of personal identification (typically a photo ID and social security card), recent pay stubs, current bills, current and past tax returns, bank statements, proof of charitable donations, and anything else relevant to your case. Once the documents are received your attorney will prepare the bankruptcy forms. Your attorney will most likely give you a copy of these documents usually consisting of a voluntary petition, schedules, and a number of other forms. Often the whole lot of documents is commonly referred to as the “bankruptcy petition.”
The Official Forms are issued by the federal government. It is important to be very thorough as you answer the questions included in this paperwork, since there are a lot of details essential for your attorney to know about as they are preparing the Official Forms to file your case. You can obtain the Official Forms from the bankruptcy court in your district and fill them out your self if want to try and file the case yourself. On that note, if you are looking for bankruptcy forms in order to file for bankruptcy on your own in Utah and in order to get a better idea of what that process will require click here to see them.
You need to understand that filing for bankruptcy is a complex and lot of work. An experienced attorney will charge you a fee (in Utah usually between $1,000 to $1,800.00) to prepare the case – its not just easy money for the attorney it takes a great deal of time to get it right and that is why the fees are what they are. As you know if you read this blog I always suggest you work with an experienced bankruptcy attorney unless you have a real knowledge of the bankruptcy code and why certain questions are asked the way they are on the forms – a wrong answer to one of the complex questions could cost you a lot of money, angst and in many cases can result in the lose property including your home. Like I said, filing for bankruptcy is a lot of work, and although you may be concerned about the upfront cost of hiring an attorney, in the long run the cost will be well worth it and will save you a lot of unnecessary stress. So if you’re thinking about taking the steps to file for bankruptcy call 801-221-9911 or click to set up a free consultation appointment and let us help you get started on that path to a fresh start!