How to file chapter 7 in illinois

It would also be good to have your bills for the last 90 days. Additionally, you will need to fill out your bankruptcy forms. You may get a bankruptcy lawyer to help you at this stage. Bankruptcy laws and the bankruptcy process may seem daunting, but we are here to help you. As we are a local, Illinois-based bankruptcy law firm, we know the state laws concerning bankruptcy, and we are confident that we can help you especially in the local scenario. Talk to a bankruptcy attorney today.

The bankruptcy court will then assign to you an unbiased bankruptcy trustee who will oversee your entire bankruptcy filing. At this point, you will be placed under what is known as an automatic stay which means that from then on, no creditor may come after you for your debts. It is also at this point that your trustee will evaluate your assets and determine which are exempt and non-exempt. Exempt assets are those deemed necessary for an individual to continue making a living that includes a house, a basic car, clothes, groceries, etc.

On the other hand, non-exempt assets include high-value items such as coin collections, extra properties, expensive vehicles, and the like. After your assets have been sorted as exempt and non-exempt, you will have the right to retain your non-exempt assets while your non-exempt assets will be seized by the trustee and liquidated to repay the debt you owed to your creditors. At this stage, finally, most of your debts will be discharged, after which, your creditors will no longer have the right to come after you, even in the future.

Take note though that while most debts will be discharged, the US Bankruptcy Code lists 19 categories of debts that cannot be discharged including income tax debts and student loan debt.

Of course, there are serious ramifications to filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. For instance, the bankruptcy report will be on your credit reports for the next 10 years and you will not be able to file for another Chapter 7 bankruptcy for 8 years after you have filed for the first.

We also suggest keeping bankruptcy documents so that you can protect yourself in case your creditors still come after you in the future when your debts have already been discharged. It is for these reasons that we suggest thinking very critically before filing for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy because while it gives you a fresh start, it has serious effects that will affect you for a very long time.

We are committed to helping you settle your financial difficulties to get a new lease on a debt-free life. When compared to other bankruptcy forms, filing bankruptcy Chapter 7 is considered by most as the simplest and quickest.

The building you are going to is a federal courthouse, and you have to pass through security on the way in. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic many courts - while still operating - have limited their in-person services.

If any of your creditors contact you now , you can simply give them your case number and tell them the automatic stay protects you. The automatic stay goes into effect the moment your case is filed, and your creditors have to follow it even if the bankruptcy court hasn't yet mailed a notice to anyone. The bankruptcy trustee is assigned to your Chapter 7 bankruptcy case by the clerk when they process your paperwork.

The trustee's job, among other things, is to verify the information you provided to the court when your bankruptcy case was filed. To that end, the Bankruptcy Code requires that everyone filing bankruptcy send a copy of their most recent federal income tax return to their trustee. To give the trustee enough time to review it, make sure you send it to your trustee so they receive it at least 7 days before the date set for your meeting. Since the trustees are independent contractors, they each have developed their own process for doing the required due diligence in Illinois bankruptcy cases assigned to them.

This means that your trustee may ask you to send certain other documents, such as paycheck stubs or bank statements in addition to your tax return. The primary goal of every Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Illinois is for the court to enter a discharge order that will forever ban your creditors from attempting to collect from you. Before a discharge can be entered in their case, all filers have to complete a course on financial management.

This has to be done after the case is filed. Folks who don't comply with this requirement will learn the hard way that there is no way around it when their case is closed without a discharge.

The course has to be taken from an approved provider. This list is not necessarily the same list of approved providers for the pre-bankruptcy course, though there is a lot of overlap. Once done, make sure you file the certificate of compliance with the bankruptcy court, so there is a record of the fact that you took the course.

Everyone filing bankruptcy in Illinois has to attend a meeting approximately 20 - 40 days after their case is first filed. In many cases, this meeting, also called the meeting of creditors , is the only time the filer goes to court.

Although the meeting often takes place at the courthouse, it does not actually take place in a courtroom and no judge is present. The purpose of the meeting is twofold. First, it provides your case trustee with the opportunity to confirm certain information disclosed in your bankruptcy forms by asking you about it while you are under oath. This is not as scary or confusing as it sounds, as all the questions are about your life and your financial situation. The second purpose of the meeting is to give creditors who have questions about your Illinois bankruptcy case an opportunity to ask you those questions.

While this is a powerful tool for creditors, most meetings take less than 10 minutes, with not a single creditor appearing. Your car will play up to two distinct roles in your Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Illinois. If you have a car loan, it is a debt that you have to include in your schedules. Since it is a secured debt you will have to disclose your intentions with respect to what you want to do with the car to the court.

This is done by filing the so-called Statement of Intentions. While filing bankruptcy in Illinois is not a way to a free car after all, that wouldn't exactly be fair to the rest of us , it does give you the opportunity to decide what is best for you.

To keep your car, you can reaffirm the car loan, basically keeping everything the same it was before your bankruptcy case was filed, or redeem it by paying the creditor the amount your car is actually worth. The second role your car plays in your Illinois bankruptcy case is that of an asset.

You have to disclose your ownership interest in the vehicle even if it is not yet paid off and claim the appropriate exemption on your Schedule C. As long as the available exemption amount exceeds your equity in the vehicle, everything will stay the same. Everyone who wishes to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Illinois has to qualify for it by passing the Illinois means test for bankruptcy.

If your household income is less than below the income limits for Chapter 7, you automatically pass the bankruptcy means test. The Illinois Chapter 7 bankruptcy forms are a combination of the official national forms that are the same in all bankruptcy districts across the country, and certain local forms developed by the Illinois Bankruptcy Courts over the years.

Each one of the three districts have local Illinois bankruptcy forms that are available for free on the courts' websites. Much of the information related to your expenses is based on national, Illinois, and local averages and standards and comes from the Census Bureau and the Internal Revenue Service.

There are some actual expenses you are allowed to include such as obligations you are legally required to pay and expenses necessary for health and welfare. After you have collected all the required information, you subtract all of your allowed expenses for Illinois from your income to determine the amount of income under the bankruptcy law that you have available to pay your unsecured creditors in a Chapter 13 plan.

Keep in mind that just because you can file a Chapter 7 does not mean that should. Generally, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a better option if you are not attempting to keep secured property like home with a mortgage but you should consult with an attorney to determine your options and the best course to take.

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