Filing Bankruptcy in Clam-Gulch, Alaska

Collect Your Clam-Gulch Bankruptcy Documents

To complete the forms for your Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Clam-Gulch, you will need your pay stubs, tax returns, and bank statements from the last two years. The financial information contained in these documents will help you fill out the income and expense portions of the forms, and will also be provided to the Trustee before your 341 meeting. If you do not have your pay stubs you can contact your human resources representative at your job to ask how you can access them. If you don’t have a human resources representative, consider asking your direct boss or your employer’s payroll servicer. If you did not hang on to your tax returns, no sweat! You can request transcripts of your tax returns by mail or online from the IRS. 

Take Credit Counseling

Before you file your Clam-Gulch bankruptcy, you will need to take the credit counseling course. The credit counseling course is a pre-bankruptcy requirement approved by the U.S. Trustee’s office. You can take the course 1) online, 2) over the phone or 3) in person. In Alaska, you can take the course in person at Money Management International, Inc. , located at 417 Barrow Street in Anchorage. If you’re not headed to Anchorage anytime soon, we suggest taking advantage of the remote offers. The course will teach you about the different options you have to deal with your debt, including bankruptcy. Once you have finished the course, you will receive a certificate of completion that will be filed with the Alaska Bankruptcy Court with your bankruptcy forms. 

Complete the Bankruptcy Forms

Once you have completed the credit counseling course, it’s time to dive into the Clam-Gulch bankruptcy forms. First, you should get prepared. Gather the financial documents discussed earlier (your pay stubs, income tax returns, and bank statements). These financial documents will help you fill out portions of the forms, especially the parts that address income and expenses. The forms will not only ask you about your income and expenses, but also about the debts you owe, who you owe them to, and leases and/or contracts you are a party to. Be as thorough as you can, and consider getting a copy of your credit report to make sure you don’t miss any creditors. Take your time to draft and review these forms before filing them with the Court. The benefit of the forms being available in fillable pdf-format is that you can take your time to review and complete them. 

Get Your Filing Fee

It costs $338 to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Clam-Gulch. This fee applies to those filing individually and those filing with their spouse. This is also a nationwide fee, so that everyone who is filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is required to pay this fee. The Court does understand that this fee may be out of reach for folks looking for relief by filing bankruptcy in Clam-Gulch. If you can’t pay the fee at the time of filing, you have two options. First, you can apply for a fee waiver. The fee waiver application requires you to provide similar information you did in the bankruptcy forms, such as information about your income and expenses. The fee waiver application will be submitted to the Court for its consideration and decided upon by a judge. You also have the option to request an installment plan. This process is the same, but you will be required to pay equal payments adding up to the full fee after filing your Alaska bankruptcy case.

Print Your Bankruptcy Forms 

When you feel as though your Clam-Gulch bankruptcy forms are in final form, you can print them and file them with the Court. You will need to print two copies of the forms. One copy will be filed with the Court. The other should be retained for your records. It’s recommended that you print one copy, sign it, and then make a copy of it. The original should always be filed with the Court. Also remember that the forms should be printed one-sided only. If you don’t have a printer at home, consider printing at a friend or relative’s house. If that is not an option, consider using a library, if possible, or a Kinkos or Staples.

Go to Court to File Your Forms

At this stage, you are ready to go to Court and file your forms. Filing your forms and paying the filing fee makes your case official and gets it onto the Court’s docket. It will be assigned a court representative called a Trustee to oversee your case. You will file your Clam-Gulch bankruptcy at the Court located at 605 W. 4th Ave, Suite 138 in Anchorage. We realize that this is a three hour drive! So, the easiest way to file your bankruptcy forms is to mail them to the bankruptcy court at the address below: 

US Bankruptcy Court

District of Alaska

605 W. 4th Ave, Suite 138

Anchorage, AK 99501

Consider mailing your forms so that you may track their mailing status. You can send them via the U.S. Postal Service, return receipt requested or via Fedex or UPS with tracking. 

Mail Documents to Your Trustee

Upon filing your Clam-Gulch bankruptcy with the Court, you will be required to send your financial documents to the Trustee. The Trustee is entitled to receive your pay stubs, and tax returns. The purpose of sending these forms to the Trustee is to protect the bankruptcy system from fraud and find out whether you have any unprotected property the Trustee can sell on behalf of your creditors. The Trustee’s job is to review the financial documents you send and compare them with your bankruptcy forms, verifying their accuracy. You should submit these forms at least ten days before your 341 meeting to give the Trustee enough time to review everything. 

Take Bankruptcy Course 2

The second debtor education course you have to take is the financial management course. This U.S. Trustee approved course is given online or over the telephone. There is no live option for this course in Alaska. The financial management course lasts approximately one hour and is designed to give you the tools you need to maintain healthy financial habits after your Clam-Gulch bankruptcy. Once you have completed the course, you will receive a certificate of completion either in the mail or via email. You will file this certificate with the Court. Filing your certificate with the Court will ensure that the Court knows that you’ve complied with this requirement and are ready to have your discharge entered when the time comes. 

Attend Your 341 Meeting

Your 341 meeting, also known as the meeting of creditors, is typically the only Court appearance you will have in your Clam-Gulch bankruptcy case. The purpose of the 341 meeting is to allow the Trustee, as well as your creditors, the opportunity to question you about your debts and the information you provided in your bankruptcy forms. Typically, creditors don’t show up to the 341 meeting, but, they have the right to do so. The 341 meeting takes place in the same courthouse you filed your bankruptcy forms at. Remember, that you will not be allowed to enter the building without identification and that electronic devices are prohibited. You should also bring your picture ID and original social security card as a means of identification at your meeting. 

Dealing with Your Car

Dealing with your car during your Clam-Gulch bankruptcy may be the most important thing you do. Aside from our homes, our cars are our most prized and often necessary asset. If you own your car, you will need to consider the applicable state or federal exemptions to protect it. You will need to know the value of your car and which exemptions would provide it optimal protection. Exemptions are discussed at the end of this guide. You may also consider reaffirmation or redemption if you have a loan on your car. When you reaffirm your car loan, you continue making payments (even during your bankruptcy) with the condition that if you don’t make payments, the lender will repossess the car and can sue you for any balance left owing on the loan after the car is sold at auction. If you default, you’ll still be responsible for paying the loan even after your Alaska bankruptcy case is done. When you redeem your car, you buy it out for its current value and discharge the rest.