87 Things You Need to know Before You File Before You File _

87 Things You Need
to Know
Before You File
Bankruptcy
Written and Published by
Victoria Ring, Bankruptcy Paralegal
1601 W Fifth Avenue, #123
Columbus, Ohio USA
Voice: (614) 486-7642 Fax: (614) 486-8840
updated April 22, 2002
email:
website:
An Important Message to the Readers:
This free ebook provides information from the knowledge and viewpoint of a bankruptcy paralegal.
However, laws and procedures change frequently, and they can be interpreted differently by different
people. For specific advice geared to your particular financial situation, consult a qualified bankruptcy
attorney. No book, software, or other published material is a substitute for personalized advice from a
knowledgeable attorney licensed to practice law in your state.
An Important Message to Legal Professionals:
Since this book is provided free, you also have the author’s permission to reproduce it in any manner
you feel will benefit your client base. All that is required is that you mail a copy to Victoria Ring, 1601
W Fifth Ave #123, Columbus OH 43212-2303. Also, please email or call Victoria at 614-486-7642 if
you would like a version of this book printed that is customized with your name and address. This book
may also be distributed over the internet as a PDF document as long as it is it not offered for sale.
Interested in Starting a Business?
If you would like to offer bankruptcy petition preparation services in your area, we have developed a
program which allows you to make extra money from your home. There is no cost to get started.
Simply go to to review our services for legal professionals. Fill out
the online form and you will receive a free personalized set of bankruptcy intake forms, customized
with your name and address. Make copies of the forms, charge the fee allowable in your state as a
petition preparer and send the forms to us for processing. Some legal professionals using our service

charge as much as $200, pay us $99.95 and make a healthy $100 profit from each petition. Please call
Victoria Ring at 614-486-7642 after you have reviewed the website if you are interested in performing
this service as a home business or add-on to your established practice.
Earn a $15.00 Referral Bonus:
If you have a friend, relative or co-worker interested in filing bankruptcy, please make a copy of the
forms in this book (starts on Page 16) and give them to fill out and return to us. Be sure to write your
name and address on the “Referred By” line at the top of the GENERAL INFORMATION form. When
we receive the petition with your name and address on the “Referred By” line, we send you a $15.00
referral bonus check. There is no limit to the number of referral checks you can receive, so if you like
our service -- get paid for it by referring clients to us.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Who Will Benefit From This Information ..................................................................... 1
Overview .................................................................................................................... 1
Free Forms Included .................................................................................................. 2
Paid Services ............................................................................................................. 2
How to Determine if you Should Hire Victoria Ring to
Prepare Your Bankruptcy Petition .............................................................................. 2
Summary of Skills and Experience of Victoria Ring ................................................... 3
How Hard is it to File a Bankruptcy Petition? ............................................................. 4
Some Terms You Need to Know Concerning Bankruptcy ......................................... 4
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy ................................................................................................ 6
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy .............................................................................................. 6
Changes in Payments During a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy ............................................ 7
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy .............................................................................................. 7
Steps That Occur for Either a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Bankrupcty .......................... 8
Other Facts that You Need to Know .......................................................................... 8
Debts That Cannot Be Discharged............................................................................. 9
The First Steps in Preparing a Bankruptcy Petition.................................................... 9
How Your Credit Will be Effected by Bankruptcy ....................................................... 11

Other General Questions and Answers...................................................................... 11
Websites to Help you Learn More About Bankruptcy................................................. 14
Summary .................................................................................................................... 15
Information-Gathering Forms for the preparation of Your Bankruptcy Petition .......... 19
87 Things You Need to Know
Before Filing Bankruptcy
WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM
THIS INFORMATION
This ebook that you downloaded from the
internet is dedicated to helping the following
types of people:
(a) Consumers — people who are
interested in learning more about bankruptcy
and/or interested in filing their own bank-
ruptcy petition.
(b) Paralegals — legal professionals
working for an attorney/boss who is consid-
ering offering bankruptcy services to clients
and is unfamiliar with some of the basic
procedures.
(c) Attorneys — legal professionals
who do not normally offer bankruptcy ser-
vices to clients, but are interested in doing
so. The forms included in this ebook can be
printed and used in your own law office as
master intake interview forms for your own
clients.
OVERVIEW
A person just doesn’t wake up one morning
and say, “Hey, I think I will file bankruptcy

today.” Instead, it is normally a long process
of worry, struggle and guilt before people
reach this point. However, the decision to file
bankruptcy is the legal right of every citizen
in the United States.
To give you a quick history lesson — the
bankruptcy law is derived from the same
type of laws the Jewish nation enacted back
in the Old Testament period. Every 7 years
their debts would be forgiven and they could
start fresh. (It was called the “Year of Jubi-
lee.) These laws were not enacted because
the society wanted to be “nice and sweet to
people”; it was done because they knew that
keeping people under debt forever was not
good for their society as a whole. By “forgiv-
ing” debts every 7 years, those experiencing
the heavy burden of debt could now afford to
put money back into the economy and
hopefully stay out of debt so the problem did
not occur again — thereby causing the
society as a whole to grow and prosper.
Our United States government knows that if
there is no way to forgive heavy, burden-
some debts, many people will eventually end
up on welfare just to survive, thereby raising
taxes, causing high unemployment, effecting
prices and causing other companies to go
out of business because the majority of
people couldn’t afford to buy their products

or much less, anything else — even if they
wanted to. This situation would eventually
collapse the economy of our society.
Therefore, don’t believe everything your
friends, neighbors and high-pressured debt
relief companies tell you. Instead, read the
information in this ebook and ask questions
of competent bankruptcy attorneys who are
available free of charge on the internet or
through a group of legal professionals such
as Pre-Paid Legal. (Most bankruptcy attor-
neys provide a free initial consultation, so
feel free to consult with one about your
particular financial situation who practices
law in your state and jurisdiction.)
Always remember that “fear of the unknown”
is a natural reaction for human beings who
are unsure about a subject. However, this
ebook was written to take the fear out of the
word “bankruptcy.” Most importantly, it will
educate you so you can make a more
informed decision about whether filing
bankruptcy is in your best interest or not.
Filing bankruptcy is not necessarily for
everybody, as you will soon see; and after
reading this ebook, you will be in a better
position to make an educated decision about
your present financial condition. If you decide
to go ahead with the process of filing bank-
ruptcy, at least you will know what to expect

after reading this ebook.
FREE FORMS INCLUDED
Beginning on Page 19 of this ebook, a com-
plete set of intake interview forms are pro-
vided for you to print out, fill out and mail in at
your convenience if you decide you want to
file your own bankruptcy and have Victoria
Ring prepare your official bankruptcy petition.
You may also use them to “sort out” your
financial situation or take with you to a free
consultation with the attorney of your choice.
Or, if you are an attorney or paralegal, you
have the author’s permission to print out the
forms, remove Victoria’s name from them and
use them for your own law office for your own
clients.
PAID SERVICES
Victoria Ring is employed as a full-time
bankruptcy paralegal for a medium-sized law
firm in Columbus, Ohio. She has experience
working on the debtor, as well as the creditor
“side of the fence,” and is very knowledgable
in many areas of bankruptcy.
In an effort to “give back” to the legal commu-
nity and to help the average consumer,
Victoria provides pro bono services over the
internet to low-income or no-asset individuals
and families for a fee of $99.95. This fee is
then donated or given back to the legal
community and/or Christian organizations

Victoria has chosen to support, depending on
the current need.
In this manner, Victoria Ring can remain bias
and not violate any laws relating to the unau-
thorized practice of law, which is not her
intention in any way.
HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU SHOULD
HIRE VICTORIA TO PREPARE YOUR
BANKRUPTCY PETITION:
As stated before, Victoria Ring is a
bankruptcy paralegal. If she reviews your
intake forms (included in this ebook) and
determines that your case may require
litigation that only an attorney can provide,
she will return your intake forms and pay-
ment with a letter explaining why she has
made this decision.
The best way to determine if hiring
Victoria as a bankruptcy paralegal to pre-
pare your bankruptcy petition paperwork is
by using the following guidelines:
1. Do you have less than $500 per
month left after you pay your normal living
expenses (rent, car payment, food, clothing,
insurance and utilities)?
2. Do your debts mainly consist of
credit cards, medical bills, repossessions,
and/or wage garnishments?
3. Have you recently lost your job,
or had a decrease in your normal income?

4. Have you recently divorced or
separated from your spouse and the debts
are too much for you to handle?
However, if you own several automobiles
with a market value of $1,500 or more
each, own several properties, have a large
amount in a 401K or other investment, own
expensive furs and jewelry, or have col-
lectibles, art and other items that have a
high cash value — I strongly urge you to
seek the advice of a bankruptcy attorney in
your area. (Check your local phone direc-
tory and call each one until you locate an
attorney that specializes in bankruptcy law;
preferably one that does nothing
except
debtor bankruptcy.)
“87 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”
Page 2
The reason for this is because if you have a
large amount of money in assets (items you
own free and clear), you may be asked to
have those items appraised and a portion of
that money paid by you to satisfy some of the
creditors you owe money to. In a situation like
that, a good bankruptcy attorney can help you
to protect more of your assets than a parale-
gal has power to do.
But, regardless of your financial situation, I
hope you enjoy reading this ebook because it

will help you understand about bankruptcy.
Then you can decide which direction is best
for you to go in at this time.
OnLine Information
Visit the website of your local bankruptcy
court, take the virtual consumer tour, read
bankruptcy articles, questions and answers
from consumers, purchase a training CD for
your paralegal and a lot more. Visit:
/>“87 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”
Page 3
Short Resume of
Victoria Ring
Summary of Skills:
 Typing speed of 95-110 words per
minute with 97% accuracy rate
 22 years of part-time, full-time and
independent contract experience with a
variety of law firms
 5 years of solid experience in
bankruptcy law as a paralegal
 19 years experience in administra-
tive and office management, business
operations, organization, communication and
customer/employee relations
 Author and publisher of 17 booklets,
2 full-length videos and 6 training CDs.
 Seminar speaker and paralegal
trainer for debtor bankruptcy topics.
Educational Background:

 Constitutional Educational Research
Foundation (CERF), Paralegal Certificate
 Ashworth College, Associates
Degree in Paralegal Studies
 Columbus Business University,
Major: Business Management, Minor:
Accounting
 After graduation from Columbus
Business University, was employed as
instructor for the Secretarial Procedures
class for 2 semesters.
Affiliations
:
 Columbus Bar Association, associ-
ate paralegal member since 2000.
 Paralegal Association of Central
Ohio, served on the Board of Directors as
editor of The Citator for one term.
 National Federation of Paralegal
Associations.
 National Notary Association.
 Licensed as a Notary Public in the
state of Ohio.
HOW HARD IS IT TO FILE BANKRUPTCY?
Filing a bankruptcy petition is as simple as
taking the original and four (4) copies of your
entire bankruptcy petition to the Bankruptcy
court in your area. You will simply walk up to
the desk of the Clerk of Court, hand him/her
your paperwork and pay the required filing

fee. (Chapter 7, $200; Chapter 13, $185.)
The Clerk will look through your petition to
make sure you have all the papers in order.
He/she will then place them into a machine
that stamps the current date and time. (Some
smaller courts use a hand stamp and others
use a rubber stamp and hand write the date
and time on the blank line.)
The Clerk will keep the original and 2-3
copies for their own use. They will hand you
back the extra copies for you to keep and
make copies of (if needed) by creditors who
request it. A Judge will also be assigned to
your case at this time.
The whole process of filing your own bank-
ruptcy petition normally only takes about 10
minutes to complete (about the same amount
of time it takes to renew your driver’s li-
cense.)
But the very moment your bankruptcy petition
is stamped with the date and time by the
Bankruptcy Court, you have just put into
effect a type of “umbrella” for yourself. This is
called the “bankruptcy stay” law. What this
means is that:
1. Any company or person(s) you owe
money to is not permitted to contact you in
any way (once they receive notice in the mail
from the court) without petitioning the Bank-
ruptcy Court to remove the “bankruptcy stay”

(which you would have advance notice of, if it
occurred, and be allowed time to answer the
motion.)
2. Any wage garnishments taken
out of your check will cease to be lawful. If
the garnishment is taken out of your check
after you file bankruptcy you may be en-
titled to a refund.
3. Any foreclosure or replevin action
currently taking place on your home or
other real property is stopped. Money
judgments cannot be collected from you but
the creditor may petition the court to re-
move the “bankruptcy stay” (depending on
the circumstance) in order to try and repos-
sess the home or piece of real property.
4. Any Sheriff’s sales are stopped
immediately.
5. Any taxes you owe that are
currently being collected on by the govern-
ment are put on hold (while your debts are
being reorganized.)
6. Any individual or company who is
in the process of repossessing your auto,
boat, furniture, appliances, or anything else
you own are stopped immediately and they
cannot remove anything without the Bank-
ruptcy Court’s permission.
SOME TERMS YOU NEED TO KNOW
CONCERNING BANKRUPTCY

7.
Creditor — This is the person or
company you owe money to because they
extended credit to you.
8. Debtor — This is YOU. You owe
debts, so you are a debtor.
9. Secured Debt — This is a debt
you owe for an item that could be taken
away from you if you don’t pay the bill. For
instance, if you don’t make your house
payment, the creditor (or bank) you owe
can repossess your house.
“87 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”
Page 4
10. Unsecured Debt — This is a debt
you owe for something that cannot be taken
from you. For instance, anything you charge
on a credit card is an “unsecured debt.” If you
don’t pay the MasterCard bill this month, they
cannot come and take whatever you bought
with the credit card. All they can do is harass
you on the telephone until you pay the bill,
turn the bill over to a collection agency, or
attempt to get a judgement against you
(depending on the amount you owe them.)
11.
Asset — This is something you
own that has resale value. Your car, TV set,
computer, stocks, bonds, bank accounts,
piggy bank, clothes, bed, etc. are all things

that have some type of value that could be
turned into cash. These types of things are
your assets.
12. Discharge — This is what happens
when your debts are erased and you have
completed your bankruptcy.
13. Exemption — There are exemp-
tion allowances allowed by the Bankruptcy
Court to protect the assets you own that you
need to keep in order to live a normal life. For
instance, you need a house to live in, a car to
drive, transportation to maintain the car,
clothes to wear, medicine refills, personal
care items, etc. The law allows you to keep
these types of items by allowing you exemp-
tions on them. Each state has it’s own exemp-
tion allowances. However, when anything you
own is totally exempt from the bankruptcy, no
one can take it away from you.
14. Automatic Stay — We covered
this before, but to reinterate, the moment a
bankruptcy is filed, all creditor activity to
collect debts, obtain judgments, or obtain
property of a debtor to satisfy a debt is com-
pleted stopped. This is the protection pro-
vided to you as a person or company under
the Bankruptcy law in the United States.
15.
Relief From Stay — This is a
court order, requested by a creditor, who

asks the court to lift the “Automatic Stay”
that was immediately put in place when you
filed your bankruptcy petition. If a creditor
is granted a “Relief from Stay,” the debtor
(you) will receive notice from the court of its
existence and the bankruptcy attorney can
prepare a Motion on the debtor’s behalf to
request the court to remove the Relief from
Stay. (Of course, there must be a lawful
reason to do so.)
16.
Reaffirmation Agreement —
This is what you file with the court if you
decide to pay a creditor outside your bank-
ruptcy. For example, you may want to
reaffirm with Bob’s Auto Sales when you file
your Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, be-
cause you want to keep making payments
on your car since you need it to get back
and forth from work.
The creditor (i.e., Bob’s Auto Sales) will
normally send you an Agreement to sign
and mail back to them. In turn, they will sign
it and send to the bankruptcy court for filing.
This assures the creditor that they will
receive all money you owe them.
17. Trustee — This is a real “live”
person that works for the Bankruptcy Court.
When you attend your first hearing, you will
meet the Trustee assigned to your case.

He/she will review your bankruptcy petition,
ask you some questions, ask questions of
any creditors who may be present, and then
tell you if he/she needs any additional
documents from you before recommending
your case for confirmation to the Judge.
18. Conversion — This is when you
start out by filing one chapter of bankruptcy
and decide later to file another chapter. For
example, you originally file a Chapter 7 but
decide to convert to a Chapter 13.
“87 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”
Page 5
19. Dismissal — Among other things,
your bankruptcy case can be dismissed at
any time if you fail to comply to any rules,
don’t turn over asset monies that are re-
quested by the Trustee or if you convert from
one Chapter of bankruptcy to another. Your
case is “discharged” if you completely pay off
your Chapter 13 or when your Chapter 7 is
legally finished.
CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY
20. In order to be eligible to file a
Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you must be able to
meet the following guidelines:
• You must reside or have a
domicile, a place of business, or property in
the United States.
• You must not have received a

bankruptcy discharge within the last six (6)
years or have had a bankruptcy case dis-
missed within the last 180 days.
21. People who file a Chapter 7 bank-
ruptcy do so in order to discharge their debts
and get a “fresh start” in life. There are no
income requirements to file a Chapter 7 and
people who file this type of bankruptcy are
those who can no longer afford to repay all
their debts due to illness, unemployment,
marital problems, unexpected medical ex-
penses, over-extended credit or other large
expenses. However, not all debts can be
discharged. For example, alimony, student
loans, child support and taxes that are less
than 3 years old are non-dischargeable and
must be repaid in full.
22. Most consumers file a Chapter 7
bankruptcy and then reaffirm on the debts
they want to continue paying. For instance,
you can file a Chapter 7 and reaffirm on your
house. This could possibly erase your other
debts and you would continue making your
house payments like you normally do now,
outside the bankruptcy.
(Note: There is pending legislation currently
being debated in Washington D.C. to change
this law, making it harder for people to file a
Chapter 7 and forcing them to file a Chapter
13, but the law has not been enacted as of

the date this ebook is written.)
CHAPTER 13 BANKRUPTCY
23. In order to be eligible to file a
Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you must be able to
meet these guidelines:
• You must reside or have a
domicile, a place of business, or property in
the United States.
• Have a steady source of
income so that you can make regular
payments to the Trustee.
• The total amount of your
debts cannot exceed $750,000.00 and
unsecured debts cannot be more than
$250,000.00.
24. People who file a Chapter 13
bankruptcy do so in order to keep property
in which a creditor has a lien — like a house
or car, or if payments are behind and the
creditor is about to foreclose or repossess
the property. The filing of a Chapter 13 will
stop the foreclosure sale and allow the
person 3 to 5 years to repay some, but not
all of their debts. Rather than wiping out all
their debts in a Chapter 7 proceeding,
Chapter 13 allows a person to reorganize
and pay a certain percentage of their debts
over a period of 3 to 5 years. The unpaid
balance is discharged after the payment
plan is completed. Payments are made

from each paycheck to the Chapter 13
Trustee, normally through employer wage
deduction.
25. A Chapter 13 is NOT a bill con-
solidation loan, although many people look
at it that way. Although it is a similar con-
“87 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”
Page 6
cept, a bill consolidation loan is money actu-
ally loaned to you to repay other creditors and
you in turn pay back the lender. In a Chapter
13, no money is loaned to you because you
make your monthly payments to the Bank-
ruptcy Trustee, who disburses the money
among your creditors. No money is loaned to
you.
26. Your priority claims are paid first in
a Chapter 13. Priority claims include debts for
things like taxes, child support, etc.
27. The amount you owe unsecured
creditors, like medical bills, credit cards, etc.
can normally be paid back as low as 10¢ on
the dollar. (This figure is not written in stone.
It is subject to change depending on your
individual State laws, type of debt it is, as well
as the income and budget of the debtor.)
28. You are allowed to keep your
home, car and everything else you own when
you file a Chapter 13 as long as you make
regular payments to the Chapter 13 Trustee.

29. Your attorney or paralegal will also
file a Chapter 13 Plan with your bankruptcy
petition that details the amount of your
monthly payments and the length of time you
are going to be in the Chapter 13 Plan.
30. This amount you pay each month
to the Trustee is determined by the amount of
money you currently make and how much
money you need to live on each month. A
good Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney or his
paralegal is skilled at balancing these two
figures so you can easily afford the Chapter
13 payment each month. It is not to the
advantage of the attorney or paralegal to give
you a payment you can’t afford. This would
cause problems later down the road. So
don’t be afraid that your payment will be too
high for you to afford.
CHANGES IN PAYMENTS DURING A
CHAPTER 13 BANKRUPTCY
31. Nothing stays the same. During
the 3-5 years that you are making regular
payments to the Chapter 13 Trustee any-
thing could happen. You may lose your job.
Your spouse may lose their job. You may
have a new baby, which brings on added
expenses. You may inherit some money.
Your old car may conk out and you will
have to replace it in order to continue
getting back and forth to work. In fact — a

million different things could happen, which
means your Chapter 13 payment can be
lowered or raised depending on the circum-
stance.
For most people, when some-
thing occurs where they cannot make a
Chapter 13 payment one month, will simply
not pay it. This is a very bad idea. All you
need to do is contact your attorney and ask
them to file a Motion to Modify the Chapter
13 Plan. You will need to go to their office
and supply the attorney with new, updated
income and budget information, which
explains why you cannot make your normal
Chapter 13 payment. It will take a couple of
months to get all the paperwork approved
through court, but it will save you from
defaulting on your Chapter 13 payments.
32. If you need to go into debt and
purchase something on credit while you are
going through a Chapter 13 bankruptcy,
your attorney can file a Motion to Incur Debt
for you. This will allow you the needed
money to purchase the item. (Example: Sell
one car and purchase another one.)
CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY
33. Chapter 11 is similar to a Chapter
13, but it is used by larger businesses or
individuals with a large amount of assets or
debts that exceed one million dollars. In a

Chapter 11 bankruptcy you are allowed to
still operate your business but your credi-
tors and the court must approve a plan to
repay your debts. There is no Trustee
“87 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”
Page 7
unless the judge decides that one is neces-
sary; however, if one is appointed to a Chap-
ter 11 case, the Trustee will take control of
the business and property.
(Note: I will not be covering Chap-
ter 11 in this ebook because most consumers
file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
Please consult with an attorney if you are
interested in filing a Chapter 11.)
STEPS THAT OCCUR FOR EITHER
A CHAPTER 7 OR CHAPTER 13
BANKRUPTCY
34. The Bankruptcy Court will send a
notice to all the creditors listed on your
creditor’s matrix (people/companies you owe
money to.) This notice is normally mailed out
5 days after you file your petition.
35. If you owe any secured creditors
(mortgage company, automobiles, furniture
stores, etc) you are required to notify them
yourself. This is done by making a copy of the
Certificate of Service and Statement of
Intentions (two legal papers included in your
bankruptcy petition) and mailing them directly

to the creditor with a copy of your Voluntary
Petition (2 pages.) You must notify them
immediately after filing your petition, hopefully
before the Bankruptcy Court notifies them
through normal process.
36. The Bankruptcy Court will also
normally mail you a notice informing you that
you are eligible to file bankruptcy. Do not be
confused. You don’t have to do anything with
this notice but keep it in your personal file and
wait on the notice that tells you the date and
time of your first hearing (see below.)
37. The Bankruptcy Court will then
send all your creditors, including you, a notice
informing you of the hearing date when you
should appear in court. This hearing is often
referred to as the “Meeting of Creditors” or
“341 Meeting.”
38. At your Meeting of Creditors a
judge is normally never present. Instead,
the Trustee will ask you some of the same
questions you answered when you first
filled out the paperwork for the attorney or
paralegal. You may be asked to provide
him/her with copies of your tax returns,
bank statements, titles to motor vehicles, an
appraisal of your home (if you own one)
along with a recorded mortgage and deed;
or the Trustee may be satisfied with your
detailed bankruptcy petition and not request

anything.
39. In actual practice, creditors rarely
appear at these hearings; however, a
representative from one of the companies
you owe, or a person you owe, may show
up at this meeting. They normally only
appear to ask where the secure item is and
if it is insured. Normally, their conversation
is with the Trustee only, not you.
40. If your bankruptcy case is a “no
asset” Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and if your
bankruptcy petition is detailed and provides
all the information the Trustee requires, this
meeting (hearing) will normally only last 5-
10 minutes. Remember, you are not going
to court because you committed a crime
and have to appear in front of a judge.
Filing for bankruptcy was a “voluntary”
choice you made. You have committed no
crime unless you fraudulently attempt some
criminal act such as hiding your assets,
committed tax fraud, etc.
OTHER FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW
41. Any debts you make AFTER you
file your bankruptcy petition cannot be
included in your bankruptcy.
42. Any debts you made BEFORE
you filed your bankruptcy petition, but forgot
to include when you filed, can be added by
your attorney or by filing an Amendment

with the Bankruptcy Court.
“87 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”
Page 8
43. After your bankruptcy is over and
the creditors have been satisfied, any lien you
have is not automatically removed from your
property. An attorney will need to be hired to
remove the lien.
44. Never make the mistake of running
up debts on all your charge cards and then
filing bankruptcy immediately thereafter. You
could be held responsible for any charges
you made within the last ninety (90) days if
these expenses were not necessary for your
day-to-day living expenses.
DEBTS THAT CANNOT
BE DISCHARGED
45. Some of the debts you owe cannot
be forgiven in bankruptcy and will need to be
repaid by you. Even if the debt is included in
your original bankruptcy petition, any unpaid
balance must be paid by you when the bank-
ruptcy is over. The types of debts I am refer-
ring to include, but are not limited to the
following:
• credit obtained by false pre-
tenses or acts of fraud;
• all taxes, customs or duties;
• debts owed for fines and
penalties to another government unit;

• student loans;
• child or spousal support;
• luxury items valued at $500 or
more that were purchased sixty (60) days
from the date you filed your original bank-
ruptcy petition;
• cash advances of $1,000 or
more that were made within sixty (60) days
from the date you filed your original bank-
ruptcy petition;
• debts made due to an act of
embezzlement or larceny;
• debts owed a party where you
maliciously caused injury to another;
• debts owed for the death or
personal injury while intoxicated by drugs or
alcohol.
THE FIRST STEPS IN PREPARING TO
FILE A BANKRUPTCY PETITION
46. Take a file folder and put a
statement from every creditor that you owe
in it. If you don’t receive a monthly state-
ment from the creditor, put the following
information on a sheet of paper about the
debt and place it in your file:
• Name and complete mailing
address of who you owe;
• Your account number (if
applicable);
• The name of who owes the

debt (husband, wife or both);
• The total amount you owe
this creditor;
• How much your monthly
payments are;
• The date you originally went
into debt with this creditor. (If you can’t
remember the exact date, just an approxi-
mate year [i.e., 2001, 2002, 2003, etc.] will
do);
• If the debt is for a credit card,
record the last date you charged on this
credit card. If you charged less than 90
days ago, you need to write down the
amount you charged and the reason for the
purchase.)
47. In the same file folder, also put in
the following documents:
• Your current paycheck stubs;
• If you are unemployed,
include copies of documents showing any
income you receive(d) from unemployment,
worker’s compensation, child support, SSI,
social security, retirement, estate, etc.
• Mortgage and deed if you
own or are purchasing a home or other real
property (i.e., land, apartment complex,
etc.);
• Copies of your car, boat,
motorcycle, mobile home or other titles to

motor vehicles;
“87 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”
Page 9
• Copies of your tax returns;
• Copies of any court proceed-
ings filed against you;
48. When you have put together your
file, you will have most of the information
needed to file a bankruptcy petition. You can
now start completing the forms that are
included in the back section of this ebook
and/or make an appointment with an attorney
in your area to discuss your options.
49. The information you supply on the
intake forms (included in this ebook) are then
entered in a correct legal manner into a set of
forms called a bankruptcy petition. A bank-
ruptcy petition includes such documents as:
Voluntary Petition, Summary of Schedules,
actual Schedules, Forms, Statement of
Intentions, Creditor’s Matrix, etc. Each
Schedule and Form in your bankruptcy
petition relates to different items that must be
filled out properly. Normally people choose to
hire an attorney to prepare their bankruptcy
petition, but some people hire independent
paralegals, and some people purchase bank-
ruptcy kits and attempt to do it themselves.
Note: Unless you are familiar with
the bankruptcy law, the average consumer

cannot properly complete a bankruptcy
petition. Besides, it is dangerous to attempt to
do so. If you don’t know the difference be-
tween real property and personal property for
instance, or the legal codes for exemption
allowances (Schedule C) you could lose
everything you own and put yourself in a
living condition much worse than you are in
right now.
50. If you decide to hire an attorney, try
to find someone who specializes in the field
of bankruptcy. In other words, your best
choice for an attorney is one who does
nothing else but specialize in bankruptcy law
exclusively. You will probably also find
bankruptcy attorneys that also do divorce,
wills, probate, and DUI; but if given a choice
between the two — chose the attorney who
specializes in bankruptcy.
51. Calling around to different attor-
ney offices and asking them what they
charge to file a bankruptcy is NOT the most
efficient method of locating a good bank-
ruptcy attorney. Attorneys who advertise
cheap prices for filing bankruptcy petitions
in your daily newspaper, often do not file all
the schedules and forms at one time (which
is perfectly legal) and will charge you
additional money to file the rest of the
petition within the 20-30 day allowance.

After being “nickel-and-dimed” to death, you
normally pay more money to this attorney
than if you just hired a higher-priced attor-
ney in the first place.
52. The best way to locate a good
bankruptcy attorney is to first determine if
they specialize in bankruptcy. If you cannot
locate someone in your area that special-
izes solely in bankruptcy, then choose an
attorney who has been in the practice for at
least five (5) years or more. (Just call your
local Bar Association and ask for a referral.)
53. You can choose to hire a bank-
ruptcy paralegal, like Victoria Ring, to
prepare your bankruptcy petition paperwork
for you so that you can file the petition
yourself with the bankruptcy court, attend
the 2 short hearings and represent yourself
without paying additional attorney fees.
54. You can purchase a bankruptcy
“do-it-yourself” kit but unless you know how
to prepare the bankruptcy petition in a
manner to present to the court, these kits
will do absolutely nothing for you except
give you some practice at filling out forms.
HOW YOUR CREDIT WILL BE EFFECTED
BY FILING BANKRUPTCY
55. If you are currently behind in
paying your bills, your credit is already
“87 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”

Page 10
effected. Filing a bankruptcy may actually be
your first step in repairing a bad credit situa-
tion. When a creditor finds a bankruptcy on
your credit report, it shows them that all prior
credit problems have been resolved. The
question then becomes, “Are you creditwor-
thy?”
56. Every creditor is different and each
one treats bankruptcy with a different set of
rules for determining your creditworthiness.
Although there are many exceptions, nor-
mally a creditor likes to see how well you do
in paying your bills during the first year or two
after filing bankruptcy before they extend new
credit to you. So although a Chapter 7 bank-
ruptcy appears on your credit report for ten
(10) years, and a Chapter 13 appears for
seven (7) years, most people only find it to be
a problem for a couple of years after filing —
provided everything else looks good on their
current credit report.
57. In addition, there are 1,000’s of
creditors who extend credit to people who
have filed bankruptcy. The interest rates are
normally higher, of course, but you can obtain
credit easily with one or more of them. One
of the best ways to build your credit after
bankruptcy is to obtain a “secured” credit
card. This is one where you put money in a

bank and the bank issues you a credit card.
The credit limit of the credit card will be the
same amount of money you have in their
bank. After you have shown that you make
timely payments, your credit line may be
increased without you depositing any more
money.
58. However, the fact remains — one
of the main reasons for filing bankruptcy is to
get OUT of debt — not back into it. You
should take responsibility for your own finan-
cial spending and saving, making sure not to
get to the point where you have to file another
bankruptcy. Once you experience total
freedom of paying for things you want to buy,
and owning them free and clear — you will
enjoy life more and grow as a human being.
About the only items the average American
really needs to go into debt for is an auto-
mobile for transportation and a home for
their family to live in. Everything else
should be purchased out of the monthly
income, or saved for and purchased in full.
The only reason Americans are in debt is
because they “want it now!” and don’t have
the patience to wait.
OTHER GENERAL QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
59. If I am married, does my spouse
have to file bankruptcy?

No, however the spouse that
does not file will not receive the benefits of
bankruptcy. In other words, if the non-filing
spouse is jointly liable on certain debts, he
or she will remain liable for those debts if
the filing spouse filed for a Chapter 7
bankruptcy. He or she will also remain liable
for any amount not paid for in the filing
spouse’s Chapter 13 plan. On the other
hand, the non-filing spouse will not have
bankruptcy noted on his or her credit report.
Therefore, if the debts you owe
are also owed by your spouse, or co-signed
by your spouse, it would be to your benefit
to file a bankruptcy together as a married
couple. If most of the debts are in your
name only, you may consider filing a bank-
ruptcy as the only debtor.
If you live in a “community property”
state — Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisi-
ana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Wash-
ington or Wisconsin — most property is
equally owned by both husband and wife
regardless of the name of the person on the
title or mortgage.
60. What if I am unmarried but living
“87 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”
Page 11
with someone? Can we file a bankruptcy
together?

No. If you are living together with a
“significant other” but are legally unmarried,
you cannot file a bankruptcy together, even if
the bills are in both your names. In this case,
each one of you would have to file separate
bankruptcy petition. A competent attorney or
paralegal can separate the expenses and
budget so that each of you pay 50% of the
day-to-day living expenses (if both of you share
the expenses) and submit the information prop-
erly to the court. In addition, if you are sepa-
rated from your legal spouse, your bankruptcy
petition can be prepared showing two separate
living expenses for each person.
61. Will bankruptcy stop a wage gar-
nishment?
Yes, some of the money garnished from
your paycheck may even be returned to you.
It all depends on how much was garnished
and when it was garnished. If your wages are
currently being garnisheed, a Notification of
Stay pleading needs to be filed in court as
well as a letter mailed to the creditor and your
employer to stop the garnishment after your
bankruptcy petition is filed.
Stopping a wage garnishment is possible
because whomever you owe that is garnish-
ing your check is now being paid (or is being
discharged) through the bankruptcy petition
you filed. As soon as the clerk file stamps

your bankruptcy petition, you have immediate
protection under the United States Bank-
ruptcy Court and every creditor you owe must
proceed through this court to collect anything
from you.
62. How can I immediately stop creditor
harassment?
The filing of a bankruptcy under
Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 will IMMEDIATELY
bring the harassment caused by creditors to a
“87 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”
Page 12
HALT. Once your bankruptcy has been
filed, creditors are forbidden from taking
action against you or against your property
to collect money you owe them. If they try
to do so, they can be held in contempt of
court. This is the advantage of the law,
administered by the United States Bank-
ruptcy Court, and provided as a way to help
citizens get “another chance.” Even if there
is a wage garnishment or other legal pro-
ceeding under way, the filing of a bank-
ruptcy will bring it to a screeching halt,
giving you the opportunity to take care of
your financial affairs in an orderly and
permanent way.
63. What if I owe the IRS back taxes?
How will bankruptcy help me?
Most tax debts cannot be dis-

charged in a bankruptcy. Trust funds and
withholding taxes you owe, such as sales
taxes or employee withholding obligations
can never be discharged. However, income
and self-employment taxes can be dis-
charged if they are at least three (3) years
old and the tax returns have been on file for
at least two (2) years.
In situations like this, a bank-
ruptcy can be a great help in many ways.
The biggest benefit is that you may be able
to reduce the amount of the tax you owe. In
a Debt Adjustment Plan, you can also stop
interest and penalties on all taxes you owe
— even the ones that are non-dischargable.
This will place you in a situation where it will
be easier to pay your taxes off.
64. How much does it cost to file
bankruptcy?
At the present time, the court will
charge you $200.00 to file a Chapter 7
bankruptcy petition and $185.00 to file a
Chapter 13, regardless of which state you
live in.
“87 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”
Page 13
65. When does a bankruptcy take effect?
When the Clerk of Court receives
your bankruptcy petition and date/time
stamps it, your bankruptcy is immediately

effective. The Court sends notice of your filing
to all of your creditors and bill collectors
generally within 24-48 hours after filing. That
is why it is so vitally important to include
complete addresses and zip codes of all the
people you owe on your bankruptcy petition.
The court will send a copy of your petition to
all these creditors so they will stop harassing
you. If those addresses are not correct, the
creditor won’t know you filed bankruptcy and
will continue to harass you. It is also impor-
tant to list all the collection agency addresses
so they can be notified as well. Upon receipt
of the notice of your filing, creditors and bills
collectors are prohibited from having contact
with you.
If you should receive any harassing
or annoying creditor calls after filing your bank-
ruptcy petition, a letter can be mailed to the
creditor which spells out Section 362 of the
Bankruptcy Code (Automatic Stay.) This letter
prohibits the creditor from contacting you again
or risk being held in contempt of court.
66. I feel so guilty not being able to pay
my bills. Am I a “bad” person because I need
to file bankruptcy?
You are NOT a “bad” person
because you decide to file for bankruptcy.
Back in the old days (pre 1900), if a person
went bankrupt, creditors stepped in, sold

everything the person owned, split the money
between themselves, put the bankrupt person
out in the street and make a public mockery
of them. Therefore, this is why people who
have not kept up with the times, still feel that
bankruptcy is a “bad” thing to do. But that
was over 150 years ago! The economy has
changed, employers have changed, life is
more complicated, interest rates are higher
than they have ever been in history and the
money you make doesn’t reach as far as it
used to just five years ago.
Any one of these factors could
cause a “good” person who was respon-
sible and financially secure, to suddenly
consider filing bankruptcy. Not one of us is
immune from the world’s problems. So if
there comes a point in your life where you
find it necessary to take advantage of the
bankruptcy law, don’t look back. Meet the
problem head on, clear it up and get over it.
In fact, you should be glad the United
States has set up a governing body to
protect people like you and me so we can
continue to survive in times of great finan-
cial burden.
67. Is it legal for me to file my own
bankruptcy petition?
It is perfectly legal in all 50 states
to file your own bankruptcy petition. Don’t

allow anyone to tell you otherwise. To prove
it, on the 2nd page of the Voluntary Petition
that you file in court, there is a signature
area for a non-attorney bankruptcy petition
preparer to sign. There is also a statement
that appears below your signature line that
reads: "Debtor not represented by an
attorney." If it were not legal to file your
own bankruptcy petition, then why would
the Federal Government put this directly on
their forms? In other words, it is just as
legal for you to file your own voluntary
bankruptcy petition as it is for you to get
your driver’s license renewed. Therefore,
don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
68. What about filing bankruptcy on
bad checks I wrote at check-cashing agen-
cies? Can I include them?
First of all, you should include
ALL the debts you owe, regardless of who
or what they are for on your bankruptcy
petition. However, you need to understand
something about check-cashing agencies.
Believe it or not -- when you walk into the
corner check-cashing store, write them a
post-dated check and they give you cash, a
bounced check is
not considered to be the
same thing as writing a “bad check.” How
could this be? Because the person at the

check-cashing store is fully aware of the fact
that the check you are giving them is “post-
dated.” That means, that at the time you are
writing the check, the check-cashing agency
is aware the check is bad. You make a
promise that the check will be “good” on a
certain date. If you break that promise you
still owe the debt but it is treated as
“unsecure” rather than a criminal act of check
fraud.
However, if you go to several
check-cashing agencies and get cash ad-
vances against the same payroll check; you
are committing fraud if you obtain one or
more cash advances that amount to “more”
than your check will cover.
69. Will I lose any of my personal
belongings or household goods when I file
bankruptcy?
If you are filing a Chapter 13 bank-
ruptcy and paying back your creditors 100%
of the debt you owe them, the Trustee at the
Bankruptcy Court will not take any of your
personal belongings or household goods and
sell them to pay your debts.
If you are filing a Chapter 7 bank-
ruptcy, the only way you could lose any
personal belongings or household goods is if
any of the following is true:
You do not totally own the personal

belongings or household goods because you
are still making payments on them. (Example:
furniture and appliances you purchased at a
rent-to-own store.) In this case, if you want to
keep the item, you can "reaffirm" the debt if
you have enough money per month to keep
paying the bill and are current on your
payments. Otherwise, you may want to
surrender the item, which does not neces-
sarily mean it will be repossessed. It de-
pends on the market value of the item and
how the individual company handles repos-
sessions on bankruptcy claims.
or
If the personal belonging or house-
hold good is not covered by an exemption,
that item could be sold by the Trustee and
distributed to your creditors. But, don't be
alarmed by this statement. Most average
consumers filing a Chapter 7 normally do
not have more than one or two motor
vehicles, television set, computer, stove,
refrigerator and some miscellaneous cos-
tume jewelry.
People in this type of financial
situation, normally do not need to worry
about losing anything they own because
everything they own is exempted.
WEBSITES TO HELP YOU LEARN MORE
ABOUT BANKRUPTCY

70. />— Find an attorney in your local area.
72. kruptcyassets.
com/mainpage.cfm — Get great deals on
real estate, motor vehicles and other assets
available from bankruptcy sales.
73. —
Frequently asked bankruptcy questions by
the average first-time filer.
74. />506us.htm — Ask questions about bank-
ruptcy law from participating attorneys all
over the United States.
75. e
“87 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”
Page 14
advice.com/ — This site lists a long list of
questions and answers about bankruptcy to
help consumers.
76. />bankruptcy/ — The Bankruptcy Guide. This
wealth of information website is specifically
for consumers filing bankruptcy.
77. />bankform/ — Official Bankruptcy Forms. See
what you get in most kits you pay $19.95+
for.
78. — Kelley
Blue Book online. Check and see what the
market value is on your own motor vehicles.
79. />— Online legal dictionary to look up legal
words you don’t understand.
80. —
Contains over 5,000 legal forms with ques-

tions and answers to common legal ques-
tions.
81. />Courts/Courts.htm — Find your local Bank-
ruptcy Court’s address and telephone num-
ber.
82. />uscode/11/ — The Bankruptcy Code online.
83. —
Chapter 7 help center.
84. />03bankruptcy/ — Findlaw’s resources for
bankruptcy.
85. />dc_home.html — Nolo debt and bankruptcy
reference.
86. />states2.html — Look up your local state’s
exemption allowances to help determine
how much of your real and personal prop-
erty may be exempted on Schedule C of
your bankruptcy petition.
87. kruptcypara
legalservices.com — This is the website
of the author of this ebook. It is updated
weekly and contains a growing amount of
information to help you understand or
increase your knowledge about bankruptcy.
SUMMARY
Don’t allow debt to destroy your life,
make you miserable or break up your
happy home. Instead, reach out and review
the best direction for you to solve your
problem. You have the opportunity to take
charge of your financial situation and may

be able to obtain some relief, which is
legally offered to you by the United States
Bankruptcy Court.
Do not hesitate to contact me if I can
help you in any way.
Victoria Ring
Bankruptcy Paralegal
614-486-7642
“87 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”
Page 15