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Chicago Chapter 7 Lawyers

Low Fee chapter 7 lawyers

Ch 7Our Chicago chapter 7 lawyers have filed over 8000 chapter 7 and chapter 13 bankruptcy cases for honest, hardworking people in need of a financial fresh start.  We have 4 Conveniently located offices.  Our phones are answered by bankruptcy attorneys, not support staff.  Over 60% of our clients are referred to us by satisfied friends and family members. Many of our Chicago bankruptcy lawyers have been speakers at various bankruptcy continuing legal education classes.  Our  Lawyers are licensed by the Illinois bar, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and are members of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys and the American Bankruptcy Institute.  Our Better Business Bureau rating is A Plus. Chapter 13 Lawyer

Julie Gleason | Chicago Bankruptcy Lawyer



How Chapter 7 bankruptcy works.

In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the United States Bankruptcy Court cancels or forigives many or all of your debts. In theory it might also sell some of your property to pay your creditors (However, 99% of cases are no asset cases where people keep all their property. Chapter 7 bankruptcy, also called "straight" bankruptcy, is named because the law is found in Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Cost and Timeframe
The whole Chapter 7 bankruptcy process typically takes about 3 1/2 to four months.  We file a bankruptcy "petition" for you with the federal bankruptcy court.  Upon filing of your case, the bankruptcy court notifies your creditors of your protected status.  About 30 days after filing your lawyer attends a bankruptcy hearing with you called a "341 meeting of creditors.  It is very rare that anyAffordable Chapter 7 Bankruptcy creditors show up for the hearing.  A hearing officer reviews your paperwork with us.  About 60 days after the hearing you receive "discharge papers" forgiving your dischargeable debts. The costs are $901.00 in attorneys fees we charge as well as $299 in court costs.  We typically break this $1200 down into 3 payments of $400.00 for a chicago bankruptcy case.
You must also complete 2 credit counseling classes with an agency approved by the United States Trustee. One class before filing and one class after filing.  The classes are given over the phone or internet and the charge a small fee of approximately $25-$35.

 

Who Can File

 You won't be able to use Chapter 7 bankruptcy if you already received a chapter 7 bankruptcy discharge in the last eight years, or if, based on your income, expenses, and amount of debt, you make too much to file. 

 

 

 

Bankruptcy Forms filed in a chapter 7 bankruptcy case

 

We gather your financial history from you to fill out a petition and a number of other forms and file them electronically with the bankruptcy court.   Basically, the forms ask you to list your property, your current income and monthly living expenses, your debts, property you claim the law allows you to keep through the Chapter 7 bankruptcy process ( "exempt property") --Illinois lets you keep some equity in your home, clothing, most household furnishings, Social Security payments you haven't spent, and other necessities such as a car with less than a certain amount of equity-- , property you owned and money you spent during the previous two years, and property you sold or gave away during the previous four years and information on an businesses you owned in the last 6 years.


The Automatic Stay Stops Your Creditors
Filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy puts into effect an  "automatic stay." The automatic stay immediately stops most creditors from contacting you or trying to collect what you owe them. So, at least temporarily, creditors cannot legally "garnish" your wages, take your bank account, go after your car, house, or other property, or cut off your lights or gas or welfare benefits.

By filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you are theoretically placing the property you own and the debts you owe in the hands of the bankruptcy court. You cannot sell, transfer or give away any of the property you own when you file, or pay off your pre petition debts, without the court's approval. However, with a few exceptions such as receiving an inheritance within 6 months of filing, you can do whatever you want with property you acquire and income you earn after you file for bankruptcy.

The Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustee

In most chapter 7 cases you never see an actual judge.  The court exercises its control through person called a "bankruptcy trustee." The trustee's primary duty is to see that your creditors are paid as much as possible on what you owe them. The trustees work on a commission basis and the more assets the trustee recovers for creditors, the more the trustee is paid.
The trustee will review your bankruptcy papers to make sure they are complete and to look for nonexempt property to sell for the benefit of creditors. The trustee will also look at your financial transactions during the previous 2 years to see if any can be undone to free up assets to pay your creditors. (You can't transfer your assets out of your name and then file bankruptcy.  In most Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases, the trustee finds nothing of value to sell and files a "No asset report".

The Creditors Meeting
A week or two after you file, you and all the creditors you list in your bankruptcy papers will receive a notice that a "341 creditors meeting" has been scheduled. The bankruptcy trustee runs the meeting and, after swearing you in, may ask you questions about your bankruptcy and the papers you filed. In the majority of Chapter 7 bankruptcies, this is the only hearing you have to attend.

What Happens to Your Property
If, after the creditors meeting, the trustee determines that you have some nonexempt property, you may be required to either turn over that property or provide the trustee with its equivalent value in cash. If the property isn't worth very much or would be cumbersome for the trustee to sell, the trustee may decline to administer or sell the property which means that you get to keep it, even though it is not exempt.

Most property owned by Chapter 7 debtors is either exempt or is essentially worthless for purposes of raising money for the creditors. As a result, a majority of debtors get to keep everything they own.  You must still make regular payments on secured debts you are keeping such as a home or car note.

How Your Secured Debts Are Treated
If you've given collateral for a loan, the loan is called a secured debt. The most common examples of secured loans are house and automobile notes. If you're behind on your payments, the creditor can ask the court to "lift" the automatic stay in order to repossess or foreclose on the property. If you are up to date on your payments, you can keep the property and keep making payments as before unless you have enough equity in the property to require its sale by the trustee.


The Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Discharge

At the end of the bankruptcy process, all of your debts are forgiven (discharged) by the court, except: debts that survive bankruptcy, such as child support, most tax debts, and student loans, parking and traffic tickets, code violations and debts that the court has declared nondischargeable because of fraud.  Debts which are typically forgiven include, credit cards, medical debt, repossessions, foreclosures, personal loans, payday loans

 

 

 

 

 

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We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

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