Short Outline of the Bankruptcy Process
The bankruptcy process really begins 6 months before people file their bankruptcy petitions.  180 days before people submit a bankruptcy petition, they must obtain a certificate of completion for credit counseling.  Without this certificate, people will not be allowed to move forward with the bankruptcy process.  Additionally, people must not have a bankruptcy dismissed 6 months prior to filing a petition and will have to meet the residency requirements of their state, which is usually 90 days.

Once people are confident that they have fulfilled pre-bankruptcy requirements, they will file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition with a U.S. bankruptcy court.  They will also file a statement of their assets and their liabilities and a schedule that lists their creditors.  Weeks after this paperwork has been received and reviewed by the bankruptcy court, the court will issue an automatic stay (stops creditors from attempting to collect money) and assign a bankruptcy trustee to administer further proceedings.

Approximately 6 weeks after paperwork has been filed, people will have to attend a mandatory meeting with their bankruptcy trustees.  Creditors may or may not attend this meeting.  During the meeting, the trustee will review the bankruptcy process, the person’s exempt/non-exempt property and point out inaccuracies in the person’s bankruptcy paperwork.  The meeting is somewhat informal and will last less than an hour.

60 days after the meeting, peoples’ debts should be discharged.  The only times debts will not be discharged is if people do not complete the required debtor education program or if creditors have disputes related to assets and exemptions.  Once debts are discharged, the bankruptcy process is over and people will be able to start fresh without having to worry about past financial obligations.