Bankruptcy Services

Holly Roark provides individualized, personal service to all of her clients, and guides them through the process from commencement to discharge.

Bankruptcy Practice Areas

• Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases
• Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases
• lien stripping
• defending against collection actions
• initiating lawsuits against creditors under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
• commencing or defending all adversary proceedings in bankruptcy such as proceedings to determine the validity, priority, or extent of a lien or other interest in property
• nondischargeability or exception from discharge actions
• fraudulent transfer actions
• preference actions
• actions removed from state court to the bankruptcy forum
• third party actions
• proceedings relating to Chapter 13 Plan confirmations
• automatic stay issues
• violation of the discharge injunction
• services related to various other bankruptcy issues and actions.
• debt settlement services when bankruptcy is not appropriate

The Bankruptcy Process

Free Initial Consultation

Holly Roark provides a detailed free initial consultation either over the phone or in person. If your case is appropriate for either a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, Holly Roark will thoroughly advise you of the next steps in the process and will provide you with a quote for fees and costs.

Preparation

The next steps are simple: you will fill out a detailed intake form, sign a retainer agreement, and gather up documents set forth in Holly Roark’s document list. There are a lot of documents to assemble, but all this information is needed to prepare your 60- 80 page bankruptcy petition, and for Holly Roark to thoroughly analyze any issues that may have not come to light in the initial consultation. Holly Roark accepts payment plans according to your needs, so you need not pay the full retainer at signing, though all fees and costs must be paid prior to filing the case (with the exception of certain Chapter 13 cases where a portion of the fees can be paid through the Chapter 13 Plan), or such fees and costs will become uncollectable as a dischargeable “debt”.

Pre-Filing Credit Counseling Course

Next, Holly Roark will direct you to take the mandatory online credit counseling course which you will have already prepaid pursuant to the retainer agreement. Usually it takes about 90 minutes to complete this informative course.

Bankruptcy Filing

Once you take the credit counseling course, review and sign your bankruptcy petition and pay the fees and costs, your case will be filed.

Meeting with Bankruptcy Trustee

About 30 days after filing the case, Holly Roark will accompany you to a meeting with the trustee assigned to your case.

Post-Filing Financial Management Course

Prior to discharge and within 45 days after the meeting with the trustee, you will need to take one final mandatory online course: a financial management course. This course takes one to two hours to complete. You will have already prepaid for this course and Holly Roark will direct you to take it after the meeting with the trustee. You will have to sign a declaration stating you took this course, and Holly Roark will file that declaration with the court. In a Chapter 7 case, this is usually the last thing you have to do.

Reaffirmation of Car Loan or Assumption of Lease

If you have a car loan or a lease of any type, or other personal property that you are still making payments on which you would like to keep, you may be required to enter into a reaffirmation agreement or a lease assumption agreement prior to your bankruptcy discharge. Holly Roark will assist you through that process as well.

Bankruptcy Discharge of Debt

In most routine Chapter 7 cases, you will receive your bankruptcy discharge 90-120 days after that meeting with the trustee. In Chapter 13 cases, you will enter into a 36 month to 60 month repayment plan, and you will receive your discharge after your plan payments are completed.