Preparing for your Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filing in the District of Minnesota

If you have consulted with your lawyer to review your options and have decided to proceed with a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the next step will be gathering a large number of documents and filling out a client questionnaire in order to provide your attorney with as much information as possible. Your attorney, Josh Johnson, will give you a list of important documents that he will need to review before preparing your bankruptcy petition and related schedules and statements.

It can be a long and difficult process for clients to gather these documents, and many people wonder why Josh needs all of this information. One reason is that there may be assets or debts that a client has forgotten about or was unaware of, and your attorney can help you make sure you describe your financial situation accurately in your bankruptcy petition by doing his due diligence in a document review. Another reason is that Josh wants your case to proceed as smoothly as possible, with no surprises. He can give you the best, most accurate legal advice if he has a complete picture of your financial and employment situation and history. Our firm has an excellent track record of no-drama 341 hearings because Josh is very diligent in requiring and reviewing relevant financial documentation during the preparation phase prior to the filing of a client’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy case.

Here is a list of some of the documents you will need to provide and a brief explanation of why Josh will ask you for this information:

• • The most recent three months of bank statements for any checking, savings and brokerage accounts:

Josh will ask you for this in order to review your transaction history and ask questions about any transactions that do not match up with the information he has on hand about your typical income and expenditures. It’s important for him to ask these questions up front because the trustee (a lawyer who administers the bankruptcy case) will likely ask for and review these same statements once your bankruptcy is filed with the Court, and your case will proceed more smoothly if Josh already knows the answers to any questions that may arise after a review of your bank records.

• • Copies of titles to any vehicles you own:

Josh will review these in order to verify who is titled on each vehicle and any auto loans registered on the title. This information helps him give you the best advice about exemption planning. Exemption planning is the way in which your lawyer can make sure that you are able to keep as much of your property as possible through the Chapter 7 process.

• • Copies of your two most recent tax returns,

including federal and state income tax returns, your W-2s, and your state property tax return. Your lawyer will use information from your tax returns to draft your bankruptcy petition, and also to verify information about your income, your marital status, and your dependents. Josh can also verify information about self-employment from your tax returns. The law requires that Chapter 7 bankruptcy filers have complied with tax laws in terms of filing returns; Josh will use your returns to verify that you have filed tax returns as required by law.

• • Copies of recent statements for any retirement accounts, pensions, investment accounts and/or life insurance policies:

Josh will use these statements to verify information you have provided about assets and income, and to assist you with exemption planning.

• • Copies of any Marital Termination Agreements (divorce documents) from the past eight years:

The trustee in your case may ask to see recent divorce documents to verify that you have listed any assets you may have been granted in a recent divorce. Your lawyer will review these documents in order to ensure that all assets and debts are listed accurately in your bankruptcy.

• • Copies of the most recent statement from any and all of your creditors:

This information helps your lawyer to accurately list all of your debts in your bankruptcy. After reviewing your statements and your credit reports, Josh will advise you about what will happen with any secured debts during the bankruptcy process, and he will let you know if you have any debts that will not be dischargeable. Most student loan debt and some tax debt may not be dischargeable in Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Be sure to discuss these debts with your lawyer.

• • Copies of your credit reports:

Josh will review these in order to make sure that all of your debts are included in your bankruptcy. It can be difficult for clients to keep track of debts that have been sold to collection agencies, “charged off”, or otherwise changed. A thorough review of your credit reports helps your lawyer make sure to accurately list all of your debts in your bankruptcy petition.

• • Copies of the last 6 months of your paychecks, as well as documentation of any other income you may receive, including child support, alimony, social security income, disability, or unemployment:

Your lawyer will review your income in order to advise you about your eligibility for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and will use information from these documents to complete your bankruptcy schedules.

• • Information on any real estate you own,

including recent mortgage and/or home equity statements, a recent property tax statement, any recent appraisals, and the legal description of the property. Your lawyer will use this information in order to advise you about how best to retain your real estate throughout the bankruptcy process, and what your options are in terms of secured debts during bankruptcy.