Preparing for Your First Bankruptcy Meeting

Before our first bankruptcy meeting, it will be helpful for you to download and complete the following forms and bring them with you to our appointment. Completing these initial documents will help streamline information gathering as well as save time (and money) during the initial bankruptcy consultation.

What to bring to your first bankruptcy meeting with Attorney Gaudreau:

• A list of every bill that you owe;
• A copy of any lawsuit or pleading you have received in a case in which you are involved;
• Two pay stubs representing an average pay period (include pay stubs for your spouse, even if s/he is not filing bankruptcy with you) which include year to date income for both of you.
• Make sure you are aware of all interests in real estate in which you have any (even a partial) interest (including real estate you are purchasing, that you already own, or that your parents or another relative may have put your name on the deed);
• Make sure you are aware of any cars, trucks, trailers, boats, motorcycles, mobile or motor homes you own or are purchasing, regardless of whether you are only a co-owner and that property is used by someone else;
• Have some idea of what your home, jewelry, and other property is worth;
• Make sure you are aware of the cash value of any whole life insurance policies you have;
• If you are self-employed, make sure you know all business debt for which you are personally liable;
• If you have used your credit cards for purchases, cash advances or balance transfers in the past 4 months, go through your statements and calculate how much money you have charged to each card.

If Attorney Gaudreau agrees to accept your bankruptcy case, we will need more documentation corroborating your financial information at a later date.  For purposes of the initial meeting, the above list will usually suffice. If you would like to expedite the review of your case, you can download and complete the attached forms and bring them to the initial bankruptcy meeting. This may be particularly helpful if you have a deadline created by a lawsuit or impending foreclosure.

Additionally, once we’ve met you’ll need to file the legal forms below with the bankruptcy court; the documents listed below will be prepared and submitted on your behalf by Attorney Gaudreau:

• the bankruptcy petition;
• a list of creditors;
• a schedule of assets and liabilities;
• a schedule of current income and current expenditures;
• a statement of your financial affairs;
• a certificate from the attorney or bankruptcy petition preparer (if there is one) indicating that you received a notice describing the different bankruptcy chapters and the services available from the credit counseling agencies as well as a statement specifying that anyone who knowingly or fraudulently conceals assets or makes a false statement under oath is subject to fine, imprisonment or both (if no one assisted you, then you must file a certificate that such notice was received from the court and read by you);
• copies of all pay stubs received by you within 60 days before filing;
• a statement of your monthly net income itemized to show how it is calculated;
• a statement disclosing a reasonably anticipated increase in income or expenditures over the following 12 months;
• if you have property that secures a debt, such as a car or home, a statement of intention with respect to treatment of the property in bankruptcy;
• a certificate from the approved non-profit budget and credit counseling agency that describes the services provided to you and a copy of the debt repayment plan, if any, developed by that agency;
• a record of any interest that you have in an individual retirement account; and
• an analysis of the means test.