Americans are blessed with Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Cincinnati that erases all medical debt and credit card bills, thus saving them from terrible financial issues. We help you start afresh in Cincinnati. But before you make a move, you need to understand whether you really need to file bankruptcy as it is a privilege open only once in 8 years. If you checked other options and are quite sure that this is what you want, this guide will explain the steps to file bankruptcy in Cincinnati and emerge debt-free in the process.
Table of Contents
1. Keep Documents Ready
The first step in filing for bankruptcy in Cincinnati is to keep all your financial documents ready. It is now possible to get the credit card report from Transunion, Experian, and Equifax from AnnualCreditReport.com. Also, collect all the debts that may not be listed on your credit report, like personal loans, as everything has to be listed in the bankruptcy forms.
Keep these documents ready, along with the credit report.
- Recent bank account statements
- Copies of vehicle registration
- Tax returns for the last two years
- Recent retirement account or brokerage account statement
- Pay stubs or any other proof of your income for the past six months
- Valuations or appraisals of real estate you own
- Other documents relating to your debts, assets, or income
2. Fill The Bankruptcy Forms
The bankruptcy forms have a total of 23 separate forms that comes to around 70 pages. You have to fill in details about your income, expenses, whatever you own and owe, which can take a lot of time. You can get in touch with us to learn how our lawyers can help you file a bankruptcy.
4. Pay Your Filing Fee
The filing fee of $338 must be paid to the court in person in exact change. If you don’t have enough money to pay for the filing of Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can fill a form to request to pay in installments. This lets you pay the fee in four installments within 120 days of your date of filing bankruptcy. If that is currently impossible, you can complete another form to apply for a fee waiver. You will be qualified if your total household income is under 150% of the federal poverty line.
5. Take The Bankruptcy Forms To Court
After filling the bankruptcy forms, print them single-sided, sign them and bring them to court. Many courts need only one copy of the forms but there are some that may ask for more. You can consult with the local bankruptcy court to know how many copies will be required.
6. Go To Court And File The Forms
It is time to take the forms and your course 1 certificate (showing that you took the credit counseling course) to court for filing. Check beforehand what days the court will be open. There is no use going prepared to the court only to find that it is a holiday for the court. Once in the court, head straight to the clerk’s office and submit the forms along with the fee or the form for fee waiver or installment. The processing of the forms takes about 15 minutes, after which you will be given your bankruptcy case number, the name of your bankruptcy trustee, and the time, date, and location of meeting with your trustee.
Once you obtain these, you can be relieved that the debt collectors are now legally prohibited by bankruptcy’s Automatic Stay from contacting you.
7. Mail The Documents To The Trustee
The court appoints a bankruptcy trustee to oversee your case. Once the filing is done, you must mail a few financial documents like bank statements to the trustee.
8. Attend The 341 Meeting
After a month of filing your forms, you have to attend your 341 meeting to ensure that you don’t have any expensive assets in your possession that should be distributed to creditors. Remember to take your social security card and government-issued ID to the meeting for verification. At the end of the meeting, the trustee closes the case, and your debts will be discharged in two months.
10. Dealing With Your Car-Optional
If you own a car, you can either surrender it to the lender or keep the car by reaffirming the car debt and continue to make payments.
Filing for bankruptcy in Cincinnati is more accessible if you hire an expert bankruptcy attorney. For more details, speak to one of our experienced attorneys today.