Filing Bankruptcy in Rockham, South Dakota

Collect Your Rockham Bankruptcy Documents

You'll want to take time to assemble all the documents you need to outline your financial situation before filing bankruptcy in Rockham. The materials you will need include a list of your debts, income, and assets. A few of these essential items include your credit report, taxes, paystubs, and statements of property or vehicles you own. Your credit report is crucial because it has most of your debts organized into a document. Get your credit report for free and review it to confirm you have all debts on your list. You’ll eventually list all your creditors on your forms. It's a good idea to make a list of others to whom you owe money that might not show up on your credit report, such as friends, family, or the local check-cashing place. Getting your taxes from the IRS and your pay stubs from your employer will help you better prepare for filling in your Rockham bankruptcy documents. 

Take Credit Counseling

Before you fill in your Rockham bankruptcy documents, you’ll need to take a course on debt management known as the credit counseling course. You're required to take this class from an approved agency to review your options, including debt consolidation and bankruptcy. You'll get general information, but you'll have the opportunity to make your budget and examine your personal expenses. You can personalize this to explore what your financial life looks like in the current condition. If you can’t afford to pay for this 60-minute course, it can be taken for free if you qualify. The course is offered online or by telephone for easy access to residents of Rockham. If you would prefer an in-person class, you may need to drive up to an hour to Wosley. When the course is over, you’re given a certificate of completion. The certificate is valid for 6 months. You use the certificate when you file bankruptcy in Rockham to confirm that you completed the class.

Complete the Bankruptcy Forms

There are many forms you will complete to file your Rockham bankruptcy. The Court provides a list of required documents. The list can help you if you access the forms from the Court’s website. The information needed for these forms digs deep into your financials. You can also find each form organized and explained on Upsolve’s South Dakota forms page. Others just like you have filled out the forms with valuations of the things they own, including clothes and shoes. The Court also provides Appendix 1F for you to accurately fill out the List of Creditors according to its local rules and local forms.

Get Your Filing Fee

If you didn't worry about paying for a lawyer, you instead might have had concerns about paying the filing fee for your case. Filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Rockham is $338, and Chapter 13 is $313 and is paid in cash, cashier’s check or money order. If getting all the money together at once is a problem, you can apply to pay in installments or smaller payments. If you honestly can’t afford to pay the fee, you can apply for a fee waiver. The Court looks at the poverty guidelines and your filing to determine whether your Rockham bankruptcy qualifies you for a payment modification. Depending on your financial situation on paper, if the Court denies the fee waiver, it may all you to pay in installments and give you time to pay the fee.

Print Your Bankruptcy Forms

After you’ve completed filling out your Rockham bankruptcy documents, you’ll print everything one-sided and review them. The petition will total about 70 pages, and you should plan on printing two full copies. You can print at home or nearby in the public library in Redfield. Print each of the forms listed and supporting documentation one-sided. After you print, it is recommended that you refer to the list of required documents to review each document cautiously. When you’re ready, you can sign the required spaces and write your phone number under your name on the Voluntary Petition. When you sign, you are assuring the court that what you wrote is accurate to the best of your knowledge.

Go to Court to File Your Forms

Residents of Rockham and Faulk County will file their Rockham bankruptcy at the Pierre Bankruptcy courthouse. You can make the drive to the courthouse within two hours and make your way to the Clerk’s Office to ask them to review your filing. If they see an issue, they will return it to you to fix it. If no problem is spotted on the documents you filed, submit your payment application or filing fee. Many South Dakota residents find it worthwhile to have the staff review their filing, but driving two hours isn't feasible for some. If that is the case with you in Rockham, you can mail your forms to the Court. If you want a copy file-stamped, you would include the photocopy with the original in your mailing along with a self-addressed and stamped envelope. Your case number, Trustee, and 341 Meeting details are provided after you complete filing for bankruptcy in Rockham. 

Mail Documents to Your Trustee

The Trustee confirms the information you provided in your bankruptcy petition and manages the 341 Meeting. Your 341 Meeting is scheduled for about a month after the date you filed your Rockham bankruptcy. Before the meeting, the Trustee will typically request your taxes and other additional information. Keep the timeline in mind when the Trustee asks for documents. You'll want to make sure the Trustee has your documents before your 341 Meeting.

Your creditors are informed about the 341 Meeting from the Notice of Filing Chapter 7. The address is generated on the Notice from your Creditor Matrix. If you find that the Notice didn’t reach a creditor, you make an effort to find the correct address to notify the creditor of your bankruptcy. Others faced with a similar problem called the creditor or checked their paperwork for a better address. They mailed the Notice to the creditor and amend the address with the court.

Take Bankruptcy Course 2

After filing bankruptcy in Rockham, you’ll take a second bankruptcy education course. While the first course was required to file your case, the second course is necessary to ensure you successfully obtain a discharge. This pre-discharge course examines tips for saving money and using your credit wisely. You are led to make another budget and guided to consider after-bankruptcy goals. You can complete this 90-minute course by taking it from an approved agency by phone or online (nearest in person is 2-hours away). Sometimes using the same approved agency for this course may result in a discount. You will receive your certificate of completion by email and file it with the Bankruptcy Court. It brings you another step closer to success.

Attend Your 341 Meeting

Your 341 Meeting is a vital step to completing your Rockham bankruptcy. Although creditors must receive notice of your bankruptcy and 341 Meeting, they rarely attend. Although the creditors’ presence isn't necessary, your presence is required. The location of your 341 Meeting is on your Notice of Chapter 7 bankruptcy. When you arrive at your meeting, you’ll observe that it won’t take place in a courtroom, but a conference room instead. There will likely be others waiting with you, and you’ll wait to hear your name. The Trustee will confirm your identity and put you under oath. When you’re under oath, you are promising that what you are saying is the truth. You’ll be surprised at how quickly the meeting goes by as you truthfully provide brief, clear answers to the Trustee’s questions. You’re that much closer to having the weight of debt lifted. 

Dealing with Your Car

When filing bankruptcy in Rockham, you get to decide what to do about your car and complete a Statement of Intention to let the court and the creditor know. If you negotiate to purchase the car, you are redeeming it for its value, discharging the rest of the loan. Some choose to stay liable for the car and continue with a similar loan with the lender. If this agreement is affordable, you and the lender sign a reaffirmation agreement. When deciding whether to approve the agreement, a judge inquiries about your need for the car. The judge will warn you that nonpayment can result in repossession of the car by the lender and you would still be liable for what you owe. The loan will survive your Rockham bankruptcy, but the upside is you still have the car and hopefully an affordable payment.

Not long after bankruptcy, many find they are offered auto loans as their credit rebuilds. Before  they know it, they’re driving down Route 212. With that in mind, many return the car to the lender by surrendering the vehicle. The loan amount becomes part of the Rockham bankruptcy and is wiped away with other debt.