Rule: Every debtor is required to pay a filing fee (for chapter 7 cases, this fee is currently $335.00). This fee is paid to the Court and helps to cover the cost of processing your case.
Where Do I Pay: You can pay in person, by walking over to the courthouse and paying via cash or money order (NO PERSONAL CHECKS) or you may mail your money order/certified check payment. Please use the address listed on the top of the Order approving your installment plan. Make your money order/certified check payable to CLERK, U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF [either District of Columbia or Maryland]. To help the Clerk, please write your case number on the memo line of your check.
When Do I Pay: Please review the Court's Order (often titled "Order Approving Payment of Filing Fee in Installments" or something similar). This document includes the dates by which your installment payments are due. Each installment represents 25% of the Court's filing fee. For example, under chapter 7, you must pay eighty-three dollars and seventy-five cents ($83.75) each period ($335.00 filing fee ÷ 4 payments = $83.75).
Paying Creditors after Filing: You have filed for bankruptcy protection to have your personal liability discharged. This is a good thing. However, you should remember that not all debts are the same.
Secured debts –such as mortgage notes or car loans that secure assets that you would like to keep, need to be paid even after you file your petition. However, if you are letting your car, home, or other asset go there is no need to continue paying.
Unsecured debts –like your credit card or medical bills, usually do not need to be paid going forward. If you have any questions about whether you need to continue making payments, please call the office for further guidance.
Requirement: Every debtor is required to personally attend their 341 Meeting. A telephonic appearance (merely calling the trustee as opposed to showing up physically) or similar method is only granted in rare circumstances, such as imprisonment or deployment overseas. The date and time of the 341 Meeting is listed on the Notice of Filing that is sent to the debtor's listed address shortly after filing. If you do not show up for your meeting the trustee may file a motion to dismiss your case. If you are unable to attend your meeting you need to let me know as soon as possible so that alternate arrangements can be made.
Who Will Be There: You, me, and any other person who filed for bankruptcy protection around the same time that you did. Your creditors also have the right to attend (although they rarely appear).
What I Must Bring: Your driver's license, social security card, and your bank statement that covers the date of filing. If you do not have any of these documents, please let me know ASAP.
Purpose: For the trustee to determine the accuracy of your schedules and other paperwork that you filed.
If you rent, are you current on your payments?
Have you ever filed for bankruptcy before? When?
Do you expect to receive an inheritance soon?
Have you listed all of your debts?
Have you filed last year's tax returns yet? Do you expect to receive a refund?
In general the trustee will ask you approximately eight different questions.
Attire and Decorum: This is a highly informal meeting. Business casual attire is appropriate and preferred; however it is not uncommon for some debtors to appear in shorts and t-shirts. The meeting will be held in a small room, not a courtroom. A folding table or something similar is usually at the front of the room. The trustee will call debtors individually to the front of the room. Others in the room will be speaking quietly to their attorneys or lost in their own thoughts. Therefore, even though you will be in the front of the room, you will not be the center of attention.
After the Meeting: If the trustee does not raise any issues during the meeting you simply wait for your order of discharge to appear in the mail. If you have not taken your debtor education class you will want to complete that course and send the certificate to my office.
We serve clients throughout Washington, DC and Maryland including those in the following localities: Anne Arundel County including Annapolis, Pasadena, and Severn; Baltimore; Charles County including La Plata, St. Charles, and Waldorf; Howard County including Columbia, Elkridge, and Ellicott City; Montgomery County including Bethesda, Germantown, Rockville, and Silver Spring; Prince George's County including Bowie, Hyattsville, Laurel, Temple Hills, and Upper Marlboro; and Queen Anne's County including Stevensville.