Filing Bankruptcy in Junction, Utah

Collect Your Junction Bankruptcy Documents

When filling out your bankruptcy paperwork, you will have to disclose information about your financial affairs, like your expenses, income, and assets. Your financial records, such as your most recent bank statements, are some of the first documents you must collect. These documents will help determine which type of bankruptcy is best for you. Some legal documents that you will need when filing bankruptcy in Junction are your vehicle titles and tax returns for the past three years. Collecting these documents first will save you a lot of hassles later on. Filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Junction comes with strict requirements to be truthful, accurate, and complete in your forms, and meeting these requirements helps ensure things go as smoothly as possible. 

Take Credit Counseling

In 2005 some important changes were made to the Bankruptcy Code. These changes were made through the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA). One of the changes is the mandatory requirement that people filing bankruptcy in Junction must participate in a bankruptcy credit counseling course. Once you complete your credit counseling course, you will get a certificate of completion that you have to submit to the Bankruptcy Court along with your Junction bankruptcy petition. This course takes about two hours and is available by phone, in person, or online. You will find a list of approved pre-bankruptcy credit counseling services on the U.S. Trustee’s website. Money Management International is an approved creditor counselor in Junction.

Complete the Bankruptcy Forms

You must complete all required Court formswhen filing bankruptcy in Junction starting with the petition. Also, you have to list assets and income and a list of your creditors names and addresses called the creditor matrix. To file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Junction, you’ll have to complete several forms. You have to be diligent in completing your bankruptcy forms, as you’re signing everything under penalty of perjury even if you are working with a lawyer. Also, make sure you check out the Utah Bankruptcy Court’s page for people filing bankruptcy without an attorney. The page has helpful information on how to use the forms. Some of the common mistakes that people make when filing bankruptcy in Junction is not filling out the forms correctly. For example, some people hide their assets when completing their bankruptcy forms. This is considered bankruptcy fraudand should be avoided.

Get Your Filing Fee

Although it might seem strange that you will have to pay a filing fee to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Junction, you have to pay it, unless you qualify for a fee waiver. The fee is necessary as it provides funding for the Court and the bankruptcy Trustees that make the Utah bankruptcy system work. It now costs$338 to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Junction and $313 to file a Chapter 13, for both individuals and married couples. If the Bankruptcy Court waives your fee, you don’t have to pay it when filing bankruptcy in Junction. If you aren’t eligible to have your filing fee waived, but can’t quite save up the full $338, you can ask the Bankruptcy Court to allow you to pay the filing fee in installments.

Print Your Bankruptcy Forms

When you have everything ready to start completing the Junction bankruptcy forms you need to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Junction, print your forms. If you are comfortable working with fillable PDF forms, you can simply start inputting everything on your computer. The Court will accept Junction bankruptcy forms completed by hand too, so do what you are most comfortable with. If you have hired a lawyer for filing bankruptcy in Junction, they will file the case electronically for you. It’s essential to ensure that all the information you have provided is complete, accurate, and up to date. You may print your copy double-sided; however, the bankruptcy forms you file with the Court cannot be double-sided. Page one of this useful set of checklists will provide you with a roadmap for all documents you will have to print before you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Junction.

Go to Court to File Your Forms

Once you have everything ready, it’s time to head to the Bankruptcy Court to file everything with the clerk's office. You should bring both copies of your bankruptcy forms, and provide one set to the clerk for filing. You can go to the Frank E. Moss United States Courthouse in Salt Lake City to submit everything for your Junction bankruptcy in person. If you’d rather safe yourself the trip, you can also mail everything to the Court. Ask the clerk to stamp your copy, so that you have all the relevant information about when you filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Junction on your copy. As soon as the clerk provides you with your case number, you may let all your creditors know that they can no longer contact you. 

Mail Documents to Your Trustee

When you file a Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy in Utah, the Bankruptcy Court will appoint a Trustee to oversee your Junction bankruptcy case. The Trustee’s duties often include the following:

• verifying the completeness and accuracy of your paperwork

• looking for any signs of fraud

• finding money to pay your debts

• conducting the 341 meeting 

• disbursing funds to your creditors

The Junction bankruptcy Trustee comes from a pool of unbiased and neutral bankruptcy Trustees. You will have to provide certain documents to your Trustee, such as paycheck stubs and tax returns. In certain cases, the Chapter 7 bankruptcy Trustee also has the authority to get back certain property that you transferred to somebody before filing bankruptcy in Junction. Filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Junction means cooperating with your bankruptcy Trustee. 

Take Bankruptcy Course 2

You will have to complete a second course as a condition to receiving your dischargewhen filing bankruptcy in Junction. The terms debtor education, pre-discharge course, post-filing course, and personal financial management class all refer to this class. And this is the course you have to take after filing bankruptcy in Junction. The goal of this debtor education requirement is to inform and educate you on making sound financial choices so that you will not have to seek Junction bankruptcy relief in the future. There are many approved debtor education providers in Utah, but only one of them is located in Utah. Some course providers automatically file your certificate of completion with the Court for you, while others will send it to you to file with the Bankruptcy Court.

Attend Your 341 Meeting

Once you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Junction, the bankruptcy Court will set one meeting which you’ll have to personally attend. It is called the 341 meeting of creditors. The meeting is conducted by your Junction bankruptcy Trustee. This hearing offers your Trustee and creditors an opportunity to ask you questions under oath and confirm the information that is contained in your Junction bankruptcy schedules and statements. In most cases, the meeting takes between 5 and 15 minutes. Don’t let the fact that creditors can show up for your 341 meeting frighten you; in reality that rarely ever happens. The main purpose of this meeting is for your Trustee to verify your identity. Hence, you should be prepared and bring along your valid ID as well as evidence of your social security number.

Dealing with Your Car

There are many things related to your vehicle that you need to keep in mind when you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Junction. If you don’t have a car loan, you may keep your car provided its resale value is lower than the available exemption. In Utah, you may exempt as much as $5,000 in equity in your car. If you have a car loan and do not have any problems making car payments and the car is in good condition, you may keep everything as it is by entering into a reaffirmation agreement. If you would like to surrender your car to the lender, your lender will file a motion with the Court, asking permission to retake your car after your Junction bankruptcy case is filed.