Jacksonville Florida Chapter 7 Process
The Chapter 7 Legal Proceedings
A chapter 7 case begins with the debtor filing a petition. The petition is filed in the federal district where the debtor resides. For a map of the Florida federal districts, click here. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy also require that the debtor file: (1) schedules of assets and liabilities; (2) a schedule of current income and expenditures; (3) a statement of financial affairs; and (4) a schedule of executory contracts and unexpired leases along with the petition.
There is a $299 filing fee that goes along with the petition. Luckily, the charge is the same for those filing jointly as husband and wife. In some circumstances, the fee can be paid in up to four installments. Usually this is reserved for pro se filers. There is a provision which allows for waiver of the filing fee in very limited circumstances.
In order to properly file a petition, we need to ascertain all of the following information from our clients:
- A list of all creditors and the amount and nature of their claims;
- The source, amount, and frequency of the debtor's income;
- A list of all of the debtor's property; and
- A detailed list of the debtor's monthly living expenses, i.e., food, clothing, shelter, utilities, taxes, transportation, medicine, etc.
Married individual debtors who are filing separately must gather and file all information regarding their spouses as well as themselves.Among the schedules that an individual debtor will file is a schedule of "exempt" property. The Bankruptcy Code allows an individual debtor to protect some property from the claims of creditors because it is exempt under federal bankruptcy law or under the laws of the debtor's home state. 11 U.S.C. § 522(b). However, Florida has its own personal property exemption statutes and provisions. For a summary of those provisions, click here.
AUTOMATIC STAY
11 U.S.C. § 362 has an automatic stay provision which prevents most collections activities against a debtor. However, some creditors are able to get relief from the stay. Therefore, it is important to talk with us about whether your creditor’s collections will survive the bankruptcy filing process. Once a creditor is put on notice that you have filed bankruptcy, all collection activities must cease. This includes lawsuits, telephone calls, and/or other contact to attempt to collect debts and garnishment of wages.
CREDITOR (“341”) MEETING
A creditor meeting or what is otherwise known as a “341 meeting” is held between 20 and 40 days after the petition is filed. Prior to this meeting, the Chapter 7 trustee will require that numerous documents be disclosed for evaluation. At this meeting, the Chapter 7 trustee(s) as well as creditors of the debtor are entitled to ask questions of the debtor. The debtor is sworn to tell the truth. The proceedings are recorded and truthful answers must be given under penalties of perjury. The trustee then prepares a report to the bankruptcy court with a recommendation of whether the debtor is presumed to be abusing the bankruptcy system. Interestingly, the bankruptcy judge is prohibited under 11 U.S.C. § 341(c) from attending the 341 meeting.
A debtor is allowed to convert a Chapter 7 case to another chapter under the bankruptcy code if the debtor is ineligible under Chapter 7 so long as the debtor did not convert to Chapter 7 in the current proceeding. For example, the Code does not allow a case filed as a Chapter 13, then converted to a Chapter 7 to be converted back to a Chapter 13.
Please see other pages that we have on Chapter 7 bankruptcies, including:
