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Attorney Zaleski will personally meet with you to discuss your situation and explain the bankruptcy process. The meeting usually takes about 30-45 minutes. There is no charge for this meeting.
Attorney Zaleski will need the following items to analyze your situation:
Attorney Zaleski will collect all the documentation that you bring in, review it, and then go over a worksheet with you that collects even more information about your income, expenses, assets and debts.
Attorney Zaleski then drafts the bankruptcy paperwork which essentially consists of a document that ends up being about 30-40 pages long. Attorney Zaleski will also refer you to one of the approved credit counseling services. You will have to complete the credit counseling course before Attorney Zaleski can file your case. Usually clients take care of the credit counseling in the time frame that Attorney Zaleski prepares their paperwork. This usually takes a week or so. Once the paperwork is completed, you come back into the office to review and sign off on it. Attorney Zaleski then files the paperwork with the United States Bankruptcy Court in your district.
Once Attorney Zaleski files your case for you, he receives a “case number” for you. This is the number that you will want to give to all your creditors when they call. Having this case number proves that you have filed your case and that you now have the protection of the bankruptcy laws.
Within about 30-40 days after filing, there will be what is called a “meeting of creditors.” At this meeting you and Attorney Zaleski meet with the Trustee from the bankruptcy court to answer some very basic questions concerning your bankruptcy paperwork. Your creditors have the right to appear and ask questions but they rarely do so. The meeting usually lasts around 10 minutes. Attorney Zaleski makes sure you are properly prepared and know what types of questions that will be asked. Most people walk out of the meeting thinking, “wow, that was easy” or “all that worrying for nothing.”
The next step after the meeting is to simply wait for the bankruptcy court to issue what is called the “discharge order.” This is the official document from the bankruptcy court indicating that the bankruptcy has been successfully completed and that the debts have been discharged. This usually takes a couple of months.
Generally speaking, in a simple bankruptcy proceeding, you will only need to attend the meeting of creditors and do your credit counseling classes. In most bankruptcy cases, the client never “goes to court.”
Under the bankruptcy code, each person who files bankruptcy must first participate in a credit counseling class offered by an approved credit counseling service. Attorney Zaleski can give you the list of these services and make a referral for you. The credit counseling requirement is really quite simple; many providers offer the class over the internet or the telephone in addition to in person. The class generally takes less than one hour. In addition to this “credit counseling” class, before the Court will issue the discharge order, you must complete a second, similar class on personal financial management. This second class is typically taken from the credit counseling service. Like the first class, it is generally quite simple and takes in the ballpark of one hour or so. It can be done in person, on line, or sometimes over the telephone, depending on the service providers.
Attorney Zaleski will send you a letter informing you that the process has been completed and reminding you to save all of your paperwork for future reference.
No, the bankruptcy will not immediately clean up your credit report. Oftentimes, clients who have filed bankruptcy discover things on their credit reports that should be cleared as part of the bankruptcy. This is common. The credit reporting agencies are then contacted and requested to make the proper changes.
Attorney Zaleski has the knowledge and experience to help you avoid foreclosure and keep your family in your home. Contact us to schedule your free initial consultation at our Madison or Janesville offices..
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The Zaleski Law Firm is a debt relief agency. We help people file for Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code. The Zaleski Law Firm serves clients in Dane County (Madison, Middleton, Monona, Stoughton, Fitchburg), Rock County (Janesville, Beloit), Columbia County (Columbus, Portage, Wisconsin Dells), Green County (Monroe), Sauk (Sauk City, Baraboo, DeForest, Wisconsin Dells), Lafayette County, Adams County, Grant County and the surrounding areas.
The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.
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