Bankruptcy Timeline

The following provides a typical bankruptcy timeline. Depending on the rules of civil procedure and the state laws where you live, the entire process can take from as little as three months to as long as five years. The Hedtke Law Firm will help you understand your unique timeline.

A bankruptcy case begins with a petition. Typically, because the filing requirements are so stringent, a lawyer will prepare this document, using detailed information that you will need to supply.

Upon the filing of a chapter 13 or chapter 7 petition, federal law imposes an “automatic stay” which prevents your creditors from taking any action to collect debts against you during the pendency of the bankruptcy.

Depending on where you live, the Bankruptcy Court will send out a Notice of Filing and a Notice of Stay to your creditors. This notice makes it illegal for your creditors to continue trying to collect from you, although they are free to contact your attorney.

Between three and six weeks after your filing, you will have to attend a “meeting of creditors”. Under most circumstances, this is a brief meeting. The trustee will ask you a few questions and then will give any creditors in attendance the opportunity to ask questions.

If creditors have problems with your petition, they have a certain amount of time to file an adversary proceeding asking the court to refuse to discharge a certain debt. An adversary proceeding goes on like regular litigation, and your discharge of these debts will be delayed until the adversary proceeding is resolved.

If the meeting of creditors is uneventful, the process is probably over. If you are seeking a chapter 7 petition, you will receive a Notice of Discharge in about six weeks. If you are filing under chapter 13, you and your attorney will have discussed a payment plan, and you will receive Notice of Confirmation of the Plan in about the same time and begin making payments.

If you file under chapter 13, your payment plan will usually be on a timeline of three to five years.

Once you receive a Notice of Discharge, you could start rebuilding your credit score with 720creditscore.com. Quite often you can rebuild your credit score to above a 700 within 12 months.

Contact California Bankruptcy Attorneys at the Hedtke Law Firm. Please call 760 482-1737 to schedule your free consultation.

We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.