Statistics reported1 by the United States Bankruptcy Courts indicate that filing for bankruptcy helped over 1 million Americans in 2013, including 35,242 residents of New York. While bankruptcy can help individuals and households in the United States manage overwhelming debt and give them a new financial start, there are certain requirements that Americans must meet to ensure their bankruptcy is approved by the courts. For example, all filings must be fully complete and accurate and you must pass a means test to qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. All individuals filing for bankruptcy must also undergo credit counseling to have their bankruptcies approved.
The Basics of Credit Counseling
As part of the preparations for bankruptcy, the courts require you prove that you have undergone a consultation with a counselor at an approved credit counseling agency. The intention of this requirement is to ensure that you have explored other financial solutions to manage your debt and to make sure that bankruptcy is needed in your situation. Certain individuals may be exempt from the credit counseling requirements including active military members stationed overseas, those with mental or physical disabilities, or people requiring an emergency bankruptcy.
Many people may be concerned with this requirement, as a credit counselor may recommend other debt relief options. However, even if your counselor has other recommendations, you may still continue with your bankruptcy. For this reason, credit counseling requirements are actually a technicality of which you should not be anxious.
You must undergo credit counseling in the six months prior to your bankruptcy, and the counseling must occur through an agency that has been approved for New York filers2 by the office of the United States Bankruptcy Trustee. Once you have completed the counseling, you must submit a certificate of completion to the bankruptcy court. The court must receive this certificate within 15 days from the date you filed for bankruptcy.
How a bankruptcy attorney can help
An experienced New York bankruptcy attorney will understand all of the credit counseling requirements for bankruptcy filers and will guide you through the filing process. If you are considering bankruptcy as a debt solution, call the Law Office of Ronald D. Weiss at 631-479-2455 for help today.
