102 Things You
Need to Know
Before You File
Bankruptcy
Written and Published by
Victoria Ring, Bankruptcy Paralegal
Columbus, Ohio USA
email:
website: />An Important Message to the Readers:
This free ebook provides information and general advice about the law from the knowledge and
viewpoint of a bankruptcy paralegal. However, laws and procedures change frequently, and
they can be interpreted differently by different people. For specific advice geared to your par-
ticular financial situation, consult an expert. No book, software, or other published material is a
substitute for personalized advice from a knowledgeable attorney licensed to practice law in
your state.
Copyright © January 2001 by Victoria Ring. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this publica-
tion may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise for sale or profit, without
prior written permission of Victoria Ring. Printing of this publication from the internet download
version is permitted for private viewing only.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Bankruptcy To Go Kit ........................................................................................................................... a
Overview .............................................................................................................................................. a
Free Forms Included ............................................................................................................................ b
Paid Services ....................................................................................................................................... b
Guidelines ............................................................................................................................................ 1
How Filing Bankruptcy Can Help You .................................................................................................. 1
Terms You Need to Know Concerning Bankruptcy .............................................................................. 2
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy .......................................................................................................................... 3
Steps That Occur in Filing a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy ............................................................................. 4

(b) Paralegals -- legal professionals
with an attorney/boss who is consider-
ing offering bankruptcy services to
clients.
(c) Attorneys -- legal professionals
who do not normally offer bankruptcy
services to clients, but are interested in
starting. The forms included in this
“Bankruptcy To Go Kit” can be printed
and used in the office as master forms.
Overview
Thank you for downloading this free
book from the website located at http://
www.victoriaring.com/bankruptcy/
book01.doc. This book is written by a
Victoria Ring, a bankruptcy paralegal,
who is well aware of the confusion and
multitude of questions that surround the
subject of bankruptcy. Her experience
of working with 100’s of clients filing
bankruptcy in the Columbus, Ohio area
has awarded her the ability to know
what consumers really think and want
to know about this subject as well as all
the steps they need to take in order to
file.
For instance, Matt down the street comes
by one day to tell you how he filed bank-
ruptcy last week and purchased a new car
this week. However, your brother

position to make an educated decision
about your present financial condition. If
you decide to go ahead with the process
of filing bankruptcy, at least you will know
what to expect after reading this ebook.
102 Things You Need to Know
Before Filing Bankruptcy
Free Forms Included
Beginning on Page 14 of this ebook, a
variety of forms are provided for you to
print out, fill out and mail in at your
convenience if you decide you want to
file your own bankruptcy. Or, if you are
an attorney, you can print out the
forms, remove my name from them
and use them for your own office.
I personally designed these forms for
the two bankruptcy attorney’s that I
was employed with. At the time I hired
at the law firm, they were still using old
1960’s style forms. Because the
bankruptcy laws had changed so
dramatically, when we did intake
interviews with clients, we had to write
additional information on the side,
bottom and back of the old 1960’s
forms to have enough information to
prepare the bankruptcy petition.
After several months of using these
old, outdated forms I figured out the

attorney fees, I can personally prepare you
a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy and
submit it as a “non-attorney preparer.” (It
is legal in all 50 states to file your own
bankruptcy with or without an attorney.) I
will prepare your petition for $89.95 and
send it back to you through the mail. You
then take the papers and file them in court,
attend your 5-10 minute 341 Hearing in
about 6 weeks and confirmation hearing
which takes 2-3 minutes. It’s a simple
process, which I will walk you through if
you decide to us my services.
But ... let’s read on to discover those 102
things you need to know before filing
bankruptcy. That’s why you downloaded
this ebook for in the first place, right?
My best to you,
Victoria Ring
Victoria Ring
Bankruptcy Paralegal
Guidelines
If you are considering filing for bank-
ruptcy, you are not alone. Many people
have and will continue to file for bank-
ruptcy based upon the times with
corporate layoffs, downsizing and
continuing business failures. Although
not inclusive, the general guidelines
below will help you determine if you

sider bankruptcy.
10. If you have a severe financial set-
back such as the loss of a job, major
surgery without medical insurance, etc., it’s
time to seriously consider bankruptcy.
Generally, people filing for bankruptcy are
dealing with the following situations:
• Loss of their job or their primary
means of support;
• Been laid off from their job;
• Been demoted or given a significant
pay cut;
• Experienced major family problems
leading to divorce, child custody or separa-
tion;
• Excessive major credit card prob-
lems;
• Catastrophic medical-doctor bills
from an uninsured major surgery or illness
such as terminal cancer;
• Desperate financial situations with
little hope.
How Filing Bankruptcy Can Help You
11. Filing bankruptcy is as simple as
taking a set of papers down to the Bank-
ruptcy court, standing in line at the Clerk of
Court, paying a filing fee and having the
papers date/time stamped and handed
back to you. (The court keeps the origi-
nal.) A Judge will also be assigned at this

Terms You Need to Know
Concerning Bankruptcy
18.
Creditor — This is the person or
company you owe money to because
they extended credit to you.
19. Debtor — This is YOU. You owe
debts, so you are a debtor.
20.
Secured Debt — This is a debt you
owe for an item that
could be
taken away
from you if you don’t pay the bill. For
instance, if you don’t make your house
payment, the creditor (or bank) you owe
can repossess your house.
21. Unsecured Debt — This is a debt
you owe for something that
cannot be
taken from you. For instance, anything you
charge on a credit card is an “unsecured
debt.” If you don’t pay the MasterCard bill
this month, they cannot come and take
whatever you bought with the credit card.
All they can do is harass you on the tele-
phone until you pay the bill, turn the bill
over to a collection agency, or attempt to
get a judgement against you (depending
on the amount you owe them.)

obtain property of a debtor to satisfy a
debt is completed stopped. This is the
protection provided to you as a con-
sumer under the Bankruptcy law in the
United States.
26. Relief From Stay — This is a
court order, requested by a creditor,
who asks the court to lift the Automatic
Stay that was immediately put in place
when the debtor filed the bankruptcy
petition. If a creditor is granted a Relief
from Stay, the debtor will receive notice
from the court of its existence and the
bankruptcy attorney can prepare a
Motion on the debtor’s behalf to re-
quest the court to remove the Relief
from Stay. (Of course, there must be a
lawful reason to do so.)
27. Reaffirmation Agreement —
This is what you file with the court if
you decide to pay a creditor outside
your bankruptcy. For example, you
may want to reaffirm with Bob’s Auto
Sales when you file your Chapter 7
bankruptcy petition, because you want
to keep making payments on your car
since you need it to get back and forth
from work.
28. Trustee — This is a real “live”
person that works for the Bankruptcy

dismissed within the last 180 days.
32. People who file a Chapter 7 bank-
ruptcy do so in order to discharge their
debts and get a “fresh start” in life. There
are no income requirements to file a
Chapter 7 and people who file this type of
bankruptcy are those who can no longer
afford to repay all their debts due to illness,
unemployment, marital problems, unex-
pected medical expenses, over-extended
credit or other large expenses. However,
not all debts can be discharged. For
“102 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”
Page 3
example, alimony, student loans, child
support and taxes that are less than 3
years old are non-dischargable and
must be repaid in full.
33. Most consumers file a Chapter 7
bankruptcy and then reaffirm on the
debts they want to continue paying. For
instance, you can file a Chapter 7 and
reaffirm on your house. This could
possibly erase your other debts and
you would continue making your house
payments like you normally do now,
outside the bankruptcy.
(Note: There is pending legislation
currently being debated in Washington
D.C. to change this law, making it

submit a Reaffirmation Agreement to the
creditor, obtain their signature and file this
with the court. However, you can still pay
the bill on your own without filing a Reaffir-
mation Agreement; but it is best to file one
if the creditor you owe can repossess
something you want to keep (i.e., car,
house, TV, computer, tools, etc.).
37. The Trustee will send a notice to all
the creditors (people/companies you owe
money to.) This notice is normally sent 5
days after you file your petition.
38. The court will normally send you a
notice informing you that you are eligible to
file bankruptcy. You don’t have to do
anything with this notice but keep it in your
personal file.
39. The Trustee will then send all your
creditors, including you, a notice informing
you of the hearing date when you should
appear in court. This hearing is often
referred to as the “Meeting of Creditors.”
40. At your Meeting of Creditors NO
judge will be present. The Trustee will ask
you some of the same questions you
answered when you first filled out the
paperwork for the attorney or paralegal;
who originally prepared your bankruptcy
petition.
“102 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”

Chapter 13 allows a person to reorga-
nize and pay a certain percentage of
their debts over a period of 3 to 5
years. The unpaid balance is dis-
charged after the payment plan is
completed. Payments are made from
each paycheck to the Chapter 13
Trustee, normally through employer
wage deduction.
45. A Chapter 13 is NOT a bill consolida-
tion loan, although many people look at it
that way. Although it is a similar concept, a
bill consolidation loan is money actually
loaned to you to repay other creditors. In a
Chapter 13, no money is loaned to you
because you make your monthly payments
to the Trustee, who disburses the money
among your creditors.
46. Your priority claims are paid first in a
Chapter 13. Priority claims include debts
for things like taxes, child support, etc.
47. The amount you owe unsecured
creditors, like medical bills, credit cards,
etc. can normally be paid back as low as
5¢ on the dollar. (This figure is not written
in stone. It is subject to change depending
on your individual State laws, type of debt
it is, as well as the income and budget of
the debtor.)
48. You are normally allowed to keep

so you can easily afford the Chapter 13
payment each month. It is not to the
advantage of the attorney or paralegal
to give you a payment you can’t afford.
This would cause problems later down
the road. So don’t be afraid that your
payment will be too high for you to
afford.
52. The Trustee will send a notice to
all the creditors (people/companies you
owe money to.) This notice is normally
sent 5 days after you file your petition.
53. The court will normally send you
a notice informing you that you are
eligible to file bankruptcy. You don’t
have to do anything with this notice but
keep it in your personal file.
54. The Trustee will then send all
your creditors, including you, a notice
informing you of the hearing date when
you should appear in court. This
hearing is often referred to as the
“Meeting of Creditors.”
55. At your Meeting of Creditors NO
judge will be present. The Trustee will
ask you some of the same questions you
answered when you first filled out the
paperwork for the attorney or paralegal;
who originally prepared your bankruptcy
petition.

in court. Your attorney normally appears
on your behalf to simply confirm that you
are approved to be in the Chapter 13 plan.
“102 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”
Page 6
Changes in Payments During a
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
61. Nothing stays the same. During
the 3-5 years that you are making
regular payments to the Chapter 13
Trustee anything could happen. You
may lose your job. Your spouse may
lose their job. You may have a new
baby. You may inherit some money.
Your old car may conk out and you
have to replace it. A million things can
happen, which means your Chapter 13
payment can be lowered or raised
depending on the circumstance.
62. Many people, when something
occurs where they cannot make a
Chapter 13 payment one month, will
simply not pay it. This is a very bad
idea. All you have to do is contact your
attorney and ask them to file a Motion
to Modify the Chapter 13 Plan. You
will need to go to the office and supply
the attorney with new, updated income
and budget information, which explains
why you cannot make your normal

65. Any debts you make AFTER you file
your bankruptcy petition cannot be in-
cluded in your bankruptcy.
66. Any debts you made BEFORE you
filed your bankruptcy petition, but forgot to
include when you filed, can be added by
your attorney. He/she will file an Amend-
ment to whichever Schedule of the bank-
ruptcy petition is effected by the additional
debt(s).
67. After your bankruptcy is over and the
creditors have been satisfied, any lien you
have is not automatically removed from
your property. The attorney will need to be
hired to remove the lien.
68. Never make the mistake of running
up debts on all your charge cards and then
filing bankruptcy. You can be held respon-
sible for any charges you made within the
last ninety (90) days.
“102 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”
Page 7
Debts That Cannot be Discharged
69. Some of the debts you owe
cannot be forgiven in bankruptcy and
will need to be repaid by you. Even if
the debt is included in your original
bankruptcy petition, any unpaid bal-
ance must be paid by you when the
bankruptcy is over. The types of debts

put the following information on a sheet
of paper and put it in your file:
• Name and complete mailing ad-
dress of who you owe;
• Your account number (if appli-
cable);
• The name of who owes the debt
(husband, wife or both);
• The total amount you owe this
creditor;
• How much your monthly payments
are;
• The date you originally went into
debt with this creditor. (If you can’t re-
member the exact date, just an approxi-
mate year [i.e., 2001, 2002, 2003, etc.] will
do);
• If the debt is for a credit card,
record the last date you charged on this
credit card. If you charged less than 90
days ago, you need to write down the
amount you charged and the reason for
the purchase.)
71. In the same file folder, also put in the
following documents:
• Your current paycheck stubs;
• If you are unemployed, include
copies of documents showing any income
you receive(d) from unemployment,
worker’s compensation, child support, SSI,

ruptcy petition, but some people hire
independent paralegals, and some
people purchase bankruptcy kits and
attempt to do it themselves.
74. If you decide to hire an attorney,
try to find someone who specializes in
the field of bankruptcy. In other words,
your best choice for an attorney is one
who does nothing else but specialize in
bankruptcy law exclusively. You will
probably also find bankruptcy attorneys
that also do divorce, wills, probate, and
DUI; but if given a choice between the
two — chose the attorney who special-
izes in bankruptcy.
(Note: If you are in the southeastern
district of Ohio, I recommend Lloyd D.
Cohen & Associates, the attorney I
work for at 614-444-4211.)
75. Calling around to different attor-
ney offices and asking them what they
charge to file a bankruptcy is NOT the
most efficient method of locating a
good bankruptcy attorney. Attorneys
who advertise cheap prices for filing
bankruptcy petitions in your daily newspa-
per, often do not file all the schedules and
forms at one time (which is perfectly legal)
and will charge you additional money to file
the rest of the petition within the 20-30 day

will not know how to include them and your
petition will be rejected or you may lose
something you own.
“102 Things You Need to Know Before You File Bankruptcy”
Page 9