I was in court and a case was called where the trustee had filed a motion to have the Chapter 13 dismissed because the debtor had failed to cooperate with the trustee. The trustee’s attorney advised the court that the debtor had testified at his 341 hearing, four months earlier, that he had recently obtained new employment. The trustee requested that the debtor provide pay stubs from the new job so the trustee could verify the income. According to the trustee’s attorney, the pay stubs had not yet been provided almost four months later. The debtor’s attorney advised the court that his client had the requested documents and could provide them immediately. This did not satisfy the Judge and the case was dismissed. The Judge stated that if the debtor wanted to file bankruptcy, he needed to play by the rules.

Since I did not represent this debtor, I don’t know what contact or attempts at contact were made by the debtor’s attorney prior to the hearing. However, I have been in the position where I don’t know prior to a hearing if my client is going to show up with the requested information at the last moment. Unfortunately waiting until the hearing date to provide requested information is normally too late in bankruptcy court in Norfolk, Virginia. When you file a bankruptcy case, you must fully cooperate with the trustee in a timely manner. If a motion or objection is filed, it is urgent that you contact your attorney immediately to remedy the problem. If you wait until the Court date, you may find yourself walking out of the courtroom with your bankruptcy case dismissed. This means that your creditors can start collection actions against you immediately. If you need the bankruptcy protection, you will have to start all over again. However, your case will be much more carefully reviewed the second time around and if that case is dismissed, you may not be able to stop further collection actions by creditors for up to one year.

Here at Hampton Roads Legal Services, our team goes above and beyond in attempting to make sure that problems are resolved long before the hearing date. If you are thinking about filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. don’t try it on your own . Give me a call at 757-320-2010 to schedule a free consultation on how a Chapter 13 bankruptcy can help you.

This Firm is a Debt Relief Agency. We assist individuals to become debt free through bankruptcy.