Chapter 7
Chapter 7: most debts gone in about four months
For most people with medical bills, credit cards, payday loans and old judgments, and income under the means test line.
Chapter 7 wipes out most unsecured debt. Filing starts an automatic stay that same day: garnishments, collection calls and lawsuits have to stop while the case is open.
A trustee reviews what you own. Your home equity, car, household goods, tools and retirement accounts are protected up to the limits the law sets, and we check every item against those limits before you file.
What the flat fee covers
The means test, worked out with your pay stubs
Every page of the petition
Notice to every creditor and payroll office
A lawyer with you at the trustee meeting
Calls and emails until your discharge
The order of things
From the first call to the discharge letter
- 01
Step 1: Week one: your numbers
You upload pay stubs, tax returns and statements. We run the means test and list what you own.
- 02
Step 2: Two courses, about an hour each
One online credit course before filing and one before discharge. The providers charge a small fee.
- 03
Step 3: Filing day
We file electronically and send notices. The stay begins at once.
- 04
Step 4: About a month later: the trustee
A short meeting, usually by phone or video. We prepare you for every question.
- 05
Step 5: About two months after that: discharge
The court mails the order. The debts it covers can’t be collected again.
Chapter 7, plainly
Which debts does Chapter 7 not erase?
Most recent taxes, child support, alimony, most student loans and debts from fraud stay. We go through your list line by line.
Will I lose my tax refund?
Sometimes part of it. Timing the filing around the refund often protects it, which is one reason we look at the calendar with you.
How long before I can get credit again?
The filing stays on your report for up to ten years, but many people get a secured card within months and rebuild from there.
Bring the garnishment notice to the call
Half an hour by video, free, with one of our three lawyers.