How to File Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Without a Lawyer
Knowing how to file chapter 13 bankruptcy without a lawyer is very important. You must know what forms are needed, what is expected of you and what if any court appearances you must attend. You will need to know what counseling you need and how to file the bankruptcy after you have filled out all of the paperwork. Everything in a bankruptcy is time sensitive and you must adhere to the schedules or you could see all of your hard work was thrown out of court because you did not do everything in a timely manner.
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Instructions
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Download free chapter 13 bankruptcy forms from the US Courts (see resource box). You will need all forms pertaining to Chapter 13 (specified by form) and all forms that pertain to all bankruptcies (not specified for one or the other).
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Complete these forms according to the directions you have downloaded with the forms. It is important that all of the forms be filled out in order and with complete accuracy. Save each file as instructed to your computer to make the next step easier to extract the information to file electronically.
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File your paperwork electronically. If you have downloaded the forms, you should have saved them so that you can extract the information from the files you save to your computer to the bankruptcy forms on the Internet as you are filing your chapter 13 bankruptcy.
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Contact a credit counselor to do your first of two sessions. You will be asked a series of questions and asked to enter information about your debts from some of the forms you have filled out. Hummingbird (see resource box) is a good place to use. You will be instructed to pay after completing the information. Then you will have a ten-minute phone call from the company right after you complete the session. Print out the certificate number. You will need this for the courts.
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Read all of the information you get from the Trustee regarding your case. Follow all of the information to the letter. Attend all court appearances and do whatever the Trustee tells you to do. This will also detail your repayment plan and for how many years you will have a repayment plan.
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Follow through with the last credit counseling session at Hummingbird as well. This takes about an hour to do and is a video that you watch and then answer a few questions afterwards. Pay the fee, print the certificate number, and supply this information to the correct authority. You will receive a letter telling you where to send the information. Do this right away.
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Receive the final documents in the mail and keep paying your monthly payments to the Chapter 13 Trustee. If you have any questions, you can contact your Trustee for answers.
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Tips & Warnings
This is a huge undertaking that should be considered in-depth before going forward.
Be accurate and never leave out any assets or you could lose the assets.
Resources
- Photo Credit sxc.com
