August 3, 2020 / Jeffrey Kelly
One of the few good things to come as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic is that you can now file bankruptcy without ever leaving your house. You can even “attend” your court hearing via telephone now from the comfort and safety of your home.
Before Covid-19 hit, you had to physically appear in one of our offices and a bankruptcy attorney had to see you physically sign the documents. For many people who have to juggle busy work schedules and family schedules, it was difficult at times to physically get into the office. Traffic delays used to wreak havoc on getting some of our sign appointments completed.
Now, because of the shelter in place concerns, the Bankruptcy Court allows us to file your case without you ever having to come to one of our offices. Here is how the process works:
Step 1: We conduct your free initial consultation with you by phone. During this phone conference, we want to review all of your debts, lawsuits, assets, income and expenses with you. Our goal is to get a feel for your entire situation. At the end of this free consultation, we will clearly explain to you why Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 bankruptcy is or is not a good option for you. Unlike many other bankruptcy law firms, you will be able to talk directly to a bankruptcy attorney who will closely analyze the specific facts of your case. In addition, we will answer all of your questions.
If you decide to move forward with either Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 bankruptcy, we will need you to give us your social security number and your birthdate so that we can pull a credit report for processing your bankruptcy petition. If you have received any lawsuits or other bills you would like for us to include in your case, you can take a picture of the documents and email them to us. if you have access to a scanner, it might be easier for you to send them to us that way.
Step 2: The sign appointment. During this appointment, which will take about two hours on average, we will do a screen share with you so that you can go through each page of the bankruptcy petition to make sure it is absolutely perfect. We will use a program called Docusign so that you can electronically sign the court required signature pages. We can file your Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 bankruptcy case shortly after your sign appointment so that your court protection will begin immediately. We will mail you a hard copy of the bankruptcy petition after your case is filed. Then, we will need you to sign it with a pen and mail the documents back to us.
Your Court hearing: Until October 2020, all bankruptcy court hearings will be conducted virtually over the telephone. This means you can currently “attend” your court hearing without ever leaving your house. Normally, you have to appear physically in court for your 341 Meeting of Creditors. Before Covid-19, you would have to wait in the security line, get scanned by the guards, and then go sit in a room full of people and wait for your name to get called.
Personally, I am hoping that all of the changes that have been made to our bankruptcy system as a consequence of Covid-19 will become permanent.
Call us today at 770-881-8449 for your free consultation with a bankruptcy attorney.
