What's The Difference?

Northern California Bankruptcy Filings in 2009 by Chapter.

Chapters Can Be Changed.

If you have an approved Chapter 13, for example, and your financial situation worsens such that you are no longer able to make your payments to repay your debt, a couple of options are available to you. The first is that you may ask the court to reduce your payments to an amount you can afford. Our offices can help you with this sort of proceeding. This is called a Plan Modification. The second is that if your situation now allows you to qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, our offices can represent you if you wish to convert your case to a Chapter 7. This is called a Bankruptcy Conversion.

Bankruptcy Steps.

There are about 8 general steps in a bankruptcy that require action on your part. There are actually many other steps, but these are taken by our offices on your behalf. When we represent you in your bankruptcy, we complete petitions, court filings, attend hearings with you through the length of your bankruptcy.

Depending on your situation we will ask you about 20 questions over the phone. These questions are simple ones which will determine if we can represent you. For the first question, we will ask you where you live. If, for example, you reside outside of California, we may not be able to represent you. During this interview we will also ask some questions about your financial situation and ask you to make estimates or guesses to your best knowledge about how much you owe. The goal of the interview is to determine if we can represent you, and based upon the information you give, to give you an estimate for the cost of your bankruptcy.

You will be asked to collect some basic documents about your earnings, home, and any letters you have received from people you owe. We will also ask that you complete a draft document which gives some details about your monthly expences.

Budget of Monthly Living Expenses Form

We ask that these documents be available prior to meeting with the attorney in your free consultation because he will only be able to give accurate information and recommendations if he knows your situation. But don't worry that this is wasted effort, the bankruptcy court will eventually ask that this information acompany your bankruptcy petition.

At the end of your phone interview (most interviews take less than 12 minutes) we will coordinate a place on the calendar for you to meet with the attorney. We can schedule appointments Monday through Friday between the hours of  9:00AM and 11:30AM,  and between the hours of 2:00PM and 6:00PM Monday though Thursday, but just until 5:00PM on Friday. We accept appointments for
Saturday by arrangement.

Your initial consultation with our office is free. We will ask that you bring your collected documents with you when you meet with Richard A. La Cava. In this meeting you may ask what ever questions you like and the attorney will advise you about what options are available to you, and what choices will put you in good stead. The attorney has many years of experience from which to draw upon when advising you. There is no pressure and no obligation in your consultation. This is an opportunity for you to learn about your choices and to see if a bankruptcy can help you.

Click here for your free consultation.

You may take as long as you wish to make a decision. Maybe bankruptcy is an option only if your situation worsens, but things have a good chance of getting better. In such situations you may have time on your side. In other cases, you may choose to seek bankruptcy relief sooner rather than later. Our offices will not contact or pressure you. The choice is yours to make in the time frame you decide.

After the consultation you will be free to think about the options Richard A. La Cava has given you. Once you are ready to start the process we will review our retainer agreement with you. This is a standard agreement that outlines what we will be doing for you in the bankruptcy process. Unlike high-volume bankruptcy processors, we take care of everything – court appearances, dealing with your creditors, and all the filings with the court. We prepare all of the necessary paperwork for your bankruptcy petition. The information that you bring to your free consultation should be everything we need. Our office can file your bankruptcy petition instantly over the internet, giving you immediate protection from creditors, even before the court reviews your case.

Together we attend the initial hearing for your petition. Your hearing is called a Meeting of Creditors. This is normaly the only court proceeding you must attend. We will handle any other court appearances or filings on your behalf. Your hearing is usually held in a conference room and the agent of the court will simply ask you a few basic questions, such as your name, employment status, and if all of your debts are included in the petition.

In Chapter 7, 60 days following the bankruptcy hearing you will receive a discharge order from the court which will wipe out your debts. In Chapter 13 or Chapter 11, your debts are cleared following the completion of your scheduled repayment plan.

Wait, Aren't There Other Chapters?

Yes. In addition to Chapters 7, 13, and 11, there are also Chapters 12 and 15. Most people do not file under these chapters.

Chapter 12: Farmer or Fisherman Bankruptcy

You may file for Chapter 12 if your profession is a family farmer or a family fishermen and you have a consistent annual income. This chapter allows financially burdoned family farmers and fishermen file a plan similar to a Chapter 13 to repay all or part of their debts. Under chapter 12, you have an installment plan with which you will repay people you owe over three to five years.

Chapter 15: International Bankruptcy

You may file for Chapter 15 if your case involves parties of interest in more than one country. Generally, a chapter 15 case is an offshoot of a proceeding brought in another country, typically your home country. Under chapter 15, a U.S. Court may authorize someone like a trustee to act in a foreign country on behalf of your bankruptcy case.