Oklahoma City Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Lawyers

One of the many reasons that the American economy finds itself mired in a recession is because of consumer and/or credit card debt. Statistics show that in 1990, the average American household carried an average credit card debt in the amount of $2,966.00. By the year 2007, that average had risen to $9,840.00. As a result of this mounting collective and individual debt, people ran out of options for continuing to pay it as the job market suffered and people lost income.

Luckily, everyone has somewhere to turn for help. Below is an overview of a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Code filing. Unlike Chapter 13 bankruptcy, Ch. 7 filing involves liquidating the assets of a debtor to satisfy an agreed upon amount of debt while sustaining a reasonable standard of living.  You’ll find information regarding how the process of filing for bankruptcy protection begins, how the Bankruptcy Trustee plays a part in bankruptcy cases, what occurs at the hearing, the disposition of the cases and how you should proceed if you need a way out from under crushing financial stress.

• Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Oklahoma

  The vast majority of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filings are executed by individual consumers or families, although some businesses will also seek protection under this chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code. In order to get this process started, the petitioner must file a set of documents with the local arm of the bankruptcy court, and these documents include:

  1. A petition for bankruptcy protection
  2. Schedules of assets and liabilities
  3. The schedule of current income and expenditures
  4. A statement of financial affairs
  5. A schedule of executory contracts and unexpired leases

  In addition to filing the appropriate paperwork, the petitioner must also pay the filing fees for the case to be accepted. These fees include a $245 filing fee, a $39 miscellaneous administrative fee and a $15 trustee surcharge.

• The Bankruptcy Trustee in a Chapter 7 Filing

  When the appropriate documents are filed with the court, the Bankruptcy Trustee who’s assigned to the case receives them, reviews them and checks for any fatal flaws. Assuming there are no problems with the documentation that are obvious, the trustee takes the following steps:

  1. Acknowledges the receipt of the petition and opens the case
  2. Notifies the creditors of the opening of the case
  3. Issues an Automatic Stay, which basically is an injunction that prevents the creditors from continuing their collection efforts
  4. Schedules the creditor hearing where the petition and schedules are reviewed.

  The Automatic Stay is the most important first step that’s taken by the trustee for the benefit of the petitioner. This prevents any further collection efforts, which means that the letters and phone calls must stop immediately and until further notice from the court.

• Ch. 7 Bankruptcy Hearing in OK

  When the hearing occurs, which is usually between 20 and 40 days of the original filing of the bankruptcy petition, the trustee sits in with the petitioner and any creditors who choose to attend. At this time, the trustee places the petitioner under oath and asks him or her to affirm that the information provided to the court is true and accurate.

  The trustee will then ask questions of the petitioner that include whether or not he or she understands the nature and consequences of obtaining a discharge of the debts and how that will affect the petitioner’s credit rating and history in the future. The trustee will then open the forum to creditors who may want to ask questions as well.

  This is where problems could arise. If the creditors suspect any sort of fraud, they could object to the petition and the forthcoming discharge of debts based on these allegations if there is sufficient evidence to support these claims. Behavior that could constitute bankruptcy fraud includes:

  • Concealing debts or assets
  • Opening new credit accounts immediately before the case is filed and exhausting it
  • Making any sort of purchases where there is no intent to repay the credit extended

  There are other instances where fraud could be alleged, but these represent the most common forms. If the hearing is completed without any serious problems, the next step is taken.

• Oklahoma Ch. 7 Bankruptcy Disposition

  If no problems arise with the petition during the hearing or at any other point in the process, the trustee takes the next step and liquidates the petitioner’s non-exempt property in a manner that’s as equitable as possible for the creditors named in the case. Exempt property is that which cannot be liquidated in order to protect the petitioner from being left in a position of complete destitution.

  For instance, a certain amount of value in different forms of property must be allowed to remain in the possession of the petitioner, and a few examples of these exempt properties include:

  • Homestead
  • Some forms of life insurance
  • Pensions
  • Personal property
  • Tools of trade
  • Wages

  Again, these types of property are not totally exempt in most cases, but a numerical value of each type of exempt property will remain in the possession of the petitioner.

  After the trustee has liquidated the estate, he or she will issue a Discharge, which basically wipes out any remaining debts owed by the petitioner that were included on the original documentation. This provides the petitioner with a fresh start.

Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy with an Attorney in Oklahoma City

If you find yourself in a position where you simply cannot keep up with your monthly obligations, you need to contact the Oklahoma City bankruptcy lawyers at the Oklahoma law firm of Atkins & Markoff as soon as possible to schedule a free initial consultation.