If you recently evaluated several types of debt-relief services and are learning towards bankruptcy, you will need to start preparing to meet with a bankruptcy lawyer to find out more about it. You should prepare for this meeting by gathering up essential documents you will need for your evaluation and filing. Here are the most common documents that bankruptcy lawyers ask clients to bring to consultation visits.
Proof of Income from Every Source
Your income is one of the most essential factors for your case. The income you earn tells whether you qualify for chapter 7 or not. If you do not, you can use chapter 13. You should gather up every document you have that shows your income for the last six months. If you only have income from one source, this task will be simple. If you have multiple forms of income, you might have a harder time finding all the documents you need.
Tax Returns for the Two Previous Years
Next, grab the tax returns you have for the last two years. If you did not file these returns, you would have to file them before you can use bankruptcy. If there is a good reason you did not file, you would need to discuss this with your lawyer to find out what to do about it.
Statements for Loans You Have with Values of the Assets
You will need to supply statements for all the loans you have, too. If you have a house, bring the last mortgage statement you have. The last statement will show the balance of the loan. You should do the same for a car you own or for any other asset you own. Additionally, find a way to determine the current values of these assets as your lawyer will also need this information.
Debt Statements
As you are looking for all these documents, make sure you also grab every debt statement you have. You should grab every credit card statement you owe on, every medical bill that is outstanding, and statements from any other type of debt you might have. When a bankruptcy lawyer sees these statements, he or she will know whether they qualify for a discharge or not.
Each category is important to a bankruptcy lawyer as there is a lot of information he or she must evaluate when determining what advice to give you. You can learn more by meeting with a bankruptcy law attorney today.
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