Preparing for your first appointment
Prior
Planning Pays!
The initial office visit of about
one hour is intended to acquaint you with basic information about bankruptcy
and to assess your current financial situation in order to determine your need
and eligibility for the filing of a bankruptcy case. Although I charge
$375 for a one hour consultation (payable at the time
of the consultation), there is no obligation on your part to retain me if you
don't want to, and no obligation on my part to accept your case, although
everything you tell me will be kept confidential to the maximum extent
permitted by law.
Please bring with you to the initial
office visit as much paperwork as you have available. The more you
bring with you, the better able we are to help and advise you.
If you do not have any of this
information available for the initial office visit, then you may need to
contact your employer, human resources officer, income tax preparer, bank or
credit union, service providers or other sources to request this information.
However, please do not
cancel your appointment for your initial office visit simply because you do not
have these records. We may be able to assist you in retrieving them.
Please be prepared to pay the
bankruptcy court's filing fee and my fee (or at least some portion of my fee)
at the end of the initial office visit if you decide to go forward with the
process. My normal base fee for a Chapter 7 case is $2,500, which must be paid
in full before the case is filed, although it can be paid in installments
before filing. For a Chapter 13 case, the base fee is $4,000, which can be paid
over time both before and after the case is filed. In
certain circumstances, there may be additional fees depending on the
circumstances of your case. As explained below, there is also a fee for the
credit counseling and financial management courses, but those are paid directly
to the counseling agency.
The bankruptcy court's filing fee
for chapter 7 is $338; for Chapter 11 is $1,738.00; and for Chapter 13 is
$313.00. Please note that it is unlikely that regular consumers would be filing
a chapter 11 case, as it is more complicated and expensive than chapter 13. If
your need for a bankruptcy case relates to your mortgage being in arrears, you
should assume that you will be filing a chapter 13 case. During the
course of your case, there may be additional fees charged by the court or by me
if your case becomes complicated.
1. IDENTIFICATION.
The bankruptcy law requires that you provide proof that you are who you say you
are. Please bring with you to the initial office visit a government-issued
photo ID (such as a driver's license or passport) and your Social Security card
or some other proof of your social security number. If these documents do not
have your COMPLETE social security number on them, go to the Social Security
office, which in Boston is at the O'Neil Federal Building (next to North
Station) and get a letter, which they will usually give you while you wait so
long as you have government-issued photo identification. Please note that
driver's licenses generally do NOT have your social security number on
them. There may also be a Social Security Office near your home.
2. PROOF OF
INCOME. The bankruptcy law requires that you provide proof of your
average monthly gross income from all sources for the last 6 months beginning
with the first month before your scheduled office visit. Please bring with you
to the initial office visit all available pay stubs or other records of income
for the past seven months to include records or receipts from employment
income, tips, bonuses, child support, commissions, spousal support,
support from someone paying or sharing your living expenses, rental income,
unemployment compensation, social security, retirement, pension, interest,
dividends, or income form any other source. If you are married, then you
will need to provide this information for both yourself and
your spouse, even if your spouse is not filing; the finances
of the entire family are considered.
3. DEDUCTIONS TO
INCOME. The bankruptcy law requires that you provide proof of any
deductions from your income, which includes federal and state taxes, retirement
plan contributions, retirement plan loan repayments, insurance, court-ordered
payments, garnishments, and all other deductions whether voluntary or
involuntary. If you have your own business, you must provide a complete listing
of all of your monthly business expenses, including a year-to-date or recent
monthly Profit & Loss Statement for your business, if possible. Please
bring with you to the initial office visit as much documentation as you have
available for the last six months. It is also a good idea to check with your
employer's payroll department to be sure you aren't having too much taken out
of your paycheck; this would be the case if you get a large tax refund every
year. Think of that refund as being an "interest free" loan to
the government!
4. BANKING
RECORDS. Please provide monthly statements from your bank, credit
union, or other financial institution(s) for the last six months.
5. INCOME TAX
RETURNS. The bankruptcy law requires that you provide proof of your
annual gross income for the last 4 years and proof that you filed tax returns
for these years. Please bring with you to the initial office visit copies of your the income tax returns you filed for the last 4 years.
If have not filed any of these tax returns, please start preparing them as soon
as possible, as you will have only a limited amount of time to file them once
the bankruptcy case has been filed. A chapter 13 case will
be dismissed if you don't file the returns, both before AND after filing the
case; there's nothing I can do about that.
6. BUDGET.
The bankruptcy law requires you to prepare a budget of your REASONABLE AND
NECESSARY monthly household income and expenses, including those for mortgage
or rent, utility services (electricity, gas, fuel oil, propane, water and
sewage), telephone service, cable or satellite television service, home
maintenance, food, clothing, laundry and dry cleaning, medical and dental,
transportation, recreation, clubs, entertainment, charitable contributions,
insurance (homeowner or renter, life, health, auto), taxes on property,
alimony, maintenance, child support, etc. The budget must be based on the
income and expenses of all members of the household - even those who are not
filing bankruptcy, as well as any children who work and are living at home.
Please bring with you to the initial office visit as much documentation as you
have available for the last six months. "Reasonable and
necessary" is viewed objectively.
7. CREDIT REPORT.
Federal law makes you eligible to receive a free credit report annually from
each of the three credit reporting agencies. Please request your free credit
report online by clicking this link. If possible, save the credit report as a PDF
file and email it to me before your appointment. I will use this in order
to be sure that all of your creditors get notice of the bankruptcy case;
without notice, your debt to that creditor probably will NOT be discharged,
meaning that you would still be required to pay it. You must include and
list ALL creditors, even if you dispute the debt.
8. ACCOUNT
STATEMENTS. The bankruptcy law requires
a listing of all of your debts including those for mortgages, credit cards,
medical bills, personal loans, auto loans, furniture loans, jewelry loans,
lawsuits, etc. This includes debts you owe to friends and family
members!! Please bring with you to the initial office visit a copy
of the most recent statements from all creditors. Please remember that you must
list debts even if you think you don't owe it. If there is a dispute
about a debt, we can resolve it through the bankruptcy case.
9. PROPERTY
DOCUMENTS. The bankruptcy law requires proof
of all contracts and security agreements, including those for mortgages and
leases, refinancing, transfers of ownership, time shares, stocks, car loans and
leases, furniture rental and leases, jewelry loans, etc. Please bring with you
to the initial office visit as much documentation as you have available for the
last four years. A copy of your deed and homestead declaration (if you have
one) will be helpful, but I may be able to obtain that for you. In addition, it
will be helpful to have written appraisals or Broker's Price Opinions of your
home and any other real property you own, if any. If you refinanced your
mortgage within the last four years, please bring all of those documents also.
10. PROOF
OF INSURANCE. The bankruptcy law requires proof
of insurance on all property secured by a lien, such as homeowners
insurance, automobile insurance, etc. Please bring with you to the initial
office visit as much documentation as you have available. If you don't
have insurance, you MUST get it, especially in a chapter 13 case, otherwise
your case will be dismissed. VERY IMPORTANT! You cannot rely on
insurance that the mortgage company gets, because that only protects the
mortgage company. Get your own insurance; it will probably be
cheaper that the mortgage company's insurance.
11. DOMESTIC
SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS. If you are required to pay any
child support, alimony, or maintenance, please bring all documents associated
with such payments, ESPECIALLY if you are behind on these obligations.
12. CREDIT
COUNSELING. You must
have a session with an authorized credit counselor before the case can be
filed; it requires at least one hour. If you file a bankruptcy case
without the counseling, your case is virtually certain to be dismissed.
The counselor will charge you a fee (usually about $50) unless you qualify for
a free session. This is paid directly to the counselor. A certificate will be
issued. Please ask the counselor to email it directly to us. Click here for a list of counselors authorized to provide
sessions in Massachusetts. After the bankruptcy petition is filed and
before a discharge can be granted, you will be required to take a course in
Financial Management, which can be given by the same counselor, but after
filing.
13. OTHER
DOCUMENTS. I will need to see documents for
any bankruptcy you filed during the last eight years; a list of all of your
addresses for the last three years; documentation of any felony conviction,
money or property received from a trust or probate estate, Educational IRAs or
tuition programs, divorce or probate matters, etc., and any lawsuits that have
been filed against you within the last three years.
The Law Office of David G. Baker is
a debt relief agency as defined by the amendments to the Bankruptcy Code that
became effective on 17 October 2005.
This information is intended to help
you understand your obligations under the law and to help ensure our
compliance with the law.
Please read all of the information
carefully and follow all instructions to the best of your ability.
PLEASE NOTE: Nothing on this
page or this website is intended to constitute legal advice.
Your circumstances may be different,
so call us or another lawyer to discuss your particular situation BEFORE taking
any action!
There are some things you should NOT
do before filing a bankruptcy case. Click here to read about Mistakes People
Make.
Law Office of David G. Baker
Concentrating in Consumer
Bankruptcy.
Nothing on this page or this website
is intended to constitute legal advice. Your circumstances may be
different., so seek individualized legal advice before doing anything.
Call us today!
Telephone: 617-340-3680
- Fax: 855-490-2240
To send me an email, click here, or click here to return to the home page.