In Part 1, we discussed the various documents that you should consider bringing to your first free bankruptcy consultation with your New York bankruptcy attorney. Our goal is to relieve you of some of your anxiety as you begin the bankruptcy process. Gathering the necessary documents will ease some of your fears. Doing so will also make the overall process go more quickly. Your bankruptcy lawyer wants to help you, and the easier you make his or her job, the quicker the process will be.
Here are the remaining six items that would be helpful to bring to your initial consultation from the bankruptcy attorney’s perspective:
7. Any foreclosure notices sent to you by your creditors. Your bankruptcy attorney needs to know if any of your property is in foreclosure or about to be.
8. Any information documenting leases or timeshares. If you are a renter, you will need to provide a lease. Alternatively, if you are a landlord, you will need to present this as a source of income.
9. Any information regarding an inheritance of which you are a beneficiary. Like any other income, inheritances are assets, and if you are a recipient, your attorney will want to know.
10. Divorce documents. If you have separated from your spouse or are divorced, bring copies of your separation agreement or divorce decree. Also be sure to provide any supporting documentation as well.
11. 401(k), IRA, and profit-sharing statements. Again, these are assets that your bankruptcy attorney needs to know about before beginning the filing process. You may need to acquire copies from your human resources department, employer, or investment advisor if you are self employed.
12. Finally, bring copies of monthly statements from all your creditors going back three months. These documents are crucial because they tell your bankruptcy attorney who most of your creditors are. If any of your accounts are in default and have been sold to a collection agency, bring the collection letters they sent you because they will reference the original creditor. Along the same lines, you should bring a copy of your credit report. Make sure you do not sign up for a credit report service that charges you money to see your credit report, such as freecreditreport.com. You are entitled to one free credit report per year.
The better you can organize these documents, the more helpful they will be for your New York consumer bankruptcy attorney. It also can be helpful to label documents, such as with post-it flags, clipping (not stapling) them together, and placing them in a manila envelope. This will make it easier for your attorney to keep the documents together. Doing this will help expedite your attorney’s representation of you and make the effort less stressful.
For more questions about foreclosure, bankruptcy, the automatic stay and effective strategies for dealing with foreclosure, please feel free to contact experienced bankruptcy attorney Brooklyn NY Bruce Weiner for a free initial consultation.
