Congratulations! Your chapter 7 bankruptcy case was just filed!
So what happens next? We have a series of videos that discuss the next steps in your case from preparing for your meeting with the Chapter 7 trustee to waiting on your Discharge Order.

This video focuses on exactly what happens after filing bankruptcy. Most cases lasts around three months from beginning to end.

Your case was filed today. Starting one week from today is when you get your notice of bankruptcy from the court. Approximately 30 days from today, you will be meeting with your bankruptcy trustee at the courthouse.

Then 90 days from today is when your case is scheduled to end and you will get your discharge. By that time you will also have taken your second credit counseling session online. We may have also signed an agreement keeping the debt on your vehicle.

One week from today you will be receiving your notice of bankruptcy from
the court. It is going to look like the form in the video. It will have your name case number up top. In the middle is going to be important information for your creditors who are getting notice about
the things they should or should not do in your case.

At the bottom of the notice is your name; your attorney’s address and name (which is Busby & Southward); and then you’ll also see your bankruptcy trustees name and address.

Now turn over that page. Around 30 days from today, you will have your meeting of creditors with that chapter 7 trustee. Taking a look at the second page, you will see in the middle of it the date and time of your meeting of creditors. Look to the right and you see the location of the meeting. Here in Houston, the meetings take place at the Federal Courthouse which is 515 Rusk Street, on the third floor in Suite 3401. The Suite is like a conference room. You can access the court location here.

If your hearing is in Galveston, then your notice will show 601 Rosenberg as the location of the Federal Courthouse. The meetings are also on on third floor. You can access the court location here.

For your meeting of creditors with the chapter 7 trustee, the Trustee will need to confirm your identity and also confirm your social security number. When you meet with the trustee, make sure you bring your government-issued ID like your driver’s license or passport. You also need to bring proof of your social security number. That can be either be your social security card or it can be something like a w-2 or a 1099, or even at 1098. The trustee requires some official government-issued form.

Anytime within the next 90 days, you will need to complete your second credit counseling class online. You can use Allen Credit and Debit or Money Sharp. Use the provider that you used for the first class.

The class takes about two hours. You must complete the second class in the next 90 days.

This is also when you’re going to receive your discharge order
from the court. As the attached copy shows…Your Order of Discharge will explain what a discharge means in a chapter 7 case. It will also go to all of your creditors. This is the document that you want from your case
filing.

The Discharge means that you no longer have any legal liability on the debts listed in your case. This also effectively concludes your case with the court. Keep it in your records. Keep it handy in case you need it.

As you wonder what happens after filing bankruptcy? We send a communication a month or two afterwards explaining to you what we think you should do going forward after getting your discharge.

You will be able to restablish your credit profile. You are going to get a lot of offers in the mail for furniture loans, car loans, and of course credit cards. The cards are unsecured so you may want to take advantage of that now to start rebuilding your credit right away.

If you need anything please call us at (73) 974-8099 or email me at esouthward@busby-lee.com