With the exception of emergency bankruptcy petition filings, there are a couple of “must-have” items that a Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant needs to have, BEFORE beginning to draft a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition.
This includes:
- A 100% fully-completed Client Intake Form questionnaire, with documentation supporting the information on the form
- A copy of the debtor(s)’ Credit Counseling Certificate(s) received when they completed the required pre-filing credit counseling class
Let’s expound…
Fully completed Client Intake Form Questionnaire with Supporting Documentation
A “Fully completed Client Intake Form Questionnaire”, refers to receiving the completed questionnaire from the debtor(s) with no blanks…that all fields are either completed, OR, filled in with “Not Applicable, “N/A”, or , or sections that don’t apply to their situation crossed out.
Supporting documentation includes items such as:
- Documentation of all sources of income for the last six (6) full months
- income tax returns from the previous two (2) years
- Vehicle Titles
- Property deed(s)
- Divorce Decrees
- Etc.
The Credit Counseling Certificate
All debtors are required to complete a credit counseling class before they file bankruptcy. The exception to this is emergency circumstances, which allow the bankruptcy petition to be filed before the debtor(s) take the credit counseling class.
The debtor(s)’ attorney will typically refer their clients to a preferred credit counseling class provider. To see the full list of approved credit counseling class providers by state, Visit www.justice.gov/ust/list-credit-counseling-agencies-approved-pursuant-11-usc-111
Upon competition of the class, the debtor(s) will be provided with a Credit Counseling Certificate (CCC), those is evidence of completion, which is date and time stamped, and is good for the next 180 days.
If the debtor(s)’ bankruptcy petition is not filed before the 180 expire, they take the class again. This is very rare, but it does occasionally happen.
If a married couple is filing bankruptcy jointly, both debtors will need to complete the class, and each will receive a separate Credit Counseling Certificate that need to be filed with the court for their bankruptcy case.
Best Practices
When filing an emergency petition, the court requires that Credit Counseling Certificate be filed within 10 days.
If debtors don’t complete the credit counseling class in time, or they don’t get a copy of the Credit Counseling Certificate to the attorney to file before the 10 day deadline, they face the possibility of having their bankruptcy case dismissed.
Because of this, it has been our experience that it is generally a best practice to wait until the debtor(s) have completed the credit counseling class and have provided a copy of the Credit Counseling Certificate(s) they received, BEFORE filing the petition, so that it can be filed with the petition at the time of filing..
Of course, a competent bankruptcy attorney representing the debtor(s) will know exactly what to do in all of these, and other scenarios.
Disclaimer
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