What To Do Before Filing

Gourley & Griffin, P.A.

Statesville, North Carolina, Bankruptcy Lawyers

Chapter 7 ◦ Chapter 13

Bankruptcy Alternatives ◦ Rebuilding Credit

Our philosophy differs from many firms. The two-part free consultation is designed to give you an actual answer at the outset. Many firms provide one initial meeting, and the inquirer is asked to provide only a list of creditors and a budget. This is hardly enough to give a complete answer to your questions, and the inquirer is provided with what is potentially an unreliable estimate of his or her options.

Instead, we ask that you bring nothing to the first meeting. It is a time for you to learn about your options and to see what is needed to complete the full worksheet. You then fill the worksheet in prior to the second meeting. Yes, it is asking you to pull together quite a bit of information, but any attorney will ultimately need this information.

The information that is essential to a successful second consult includes:

• a completed worksheet (listing assets (so we protect them), debts (so we know what we are dealing with), a budget, and answers to a number of financial questions
• proof of income for the prior six months (i.e., something documenting all income of all kinds that you have received in the prior six months, including, if applicable, all pay stubs (or an employer's printout of all information for all stubs during this time period)
• proof that you filed the last four (4) years of tax returns

Prior to filing DO the following:

• save your records
• try to remain organized
• tell the attorney about everything in your financial life
• honestly provide all information and do not withhold anything from the attorney

Prior to filing DO NOT:

• use credit in any way
• transfer anything that you own to anyone else without first fully discussing this with the attorney
• make large payments to creditors without fully discussing this with the attorney
• buy anything of any real value without fully discussing this with the attorney

We are a debt relief agency proudly providing options to people with financial problems for over 15 years. In a large number of cases, we assist people with filing bankruptcy. Contact us by phone or email to schedule your first face-to-face free consultation.