"So How Long is this Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Going to Take, Anyway?"

Well, that depends.

First, you have to sort of understand the process, and fill out the forms, and go over the forms to make sure they're complete and correct and accurate, because you'll be stating under penalty of perjury in a very serious environment that they're true and correct and complete.

Then they get filed.

Then you get a trustee letter, which I've blogged about previously. And as soon as I figure out how to make a link to those past blogs, I'll do that.

And then you show up at your first meeting of creditors (341 hearing) to be asked a bunch of questions, and in the District of Arizona, and specifically in Phoenix, your attorney will mostly be taking notes during that process. Since the Rules of Evidence don't apply at the first meeting, the lawyer doesn't get to say, "Objection! The Trustee is badgering my client! and that question about the massage parlor is irrelevant!" Besides, the Trustee doesn't much badger clients.

And as soon as I'm technologically capable of doing it, I'll also build a link back to my long blogs about the first meeting of creditors, or 341 meeting. Because debtors are typically pretty anxious about those.

And there's no Bankruptcy Judge present at the first meeting; in fact, he or she is specifically not supposed to be there, so he or she doesn't hear information outside of the Rules of Evidence.

Then creditors have a few months to file Complaints saying that for whatever reason, the debt should not be discharged under relevant bankruptcy law; or even that the debtor shouldn't receive a discharge!

The latter is fairly uncommon, because a smart creditor WANTS the debtor to get a discharge. Of all the debtor's OTHER debts!

Then the trustee looks at the case and decides whether it's a "no-asset case" or an "asset case", and in either case, it'll be a while until the case is closed for administrative purposes.

How long? Well, it's not uncommon for a "no-asset" case to stay open for a year or more. And if there are assets to administer for the benefit of creditors, the case may be open for two or three years, or even more, while the trustee "works the case"; that is, while the trustee and his or her lawyer review the proofs of claim to determine if they require objections or look okay, and to determine how much should go to creditors in the administrative category, the priority category, the general unsecured category, and so on.

AND YOU MUST MUST MUST let your lawyer know if you move after you get your discharge, but before the case is closed, because a change of address form has to be filed with the Court, and the trustee must know about the change of address.

Otherwise, the trustee may make a request, the debtor may not get it, and then the trustee moves to revoke the discharge or dismiss the case; and that's an untidy mess to clean up.