Once you file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, all creditor calls and attempts to collect on debt will stop. After receiving your discharge in bankruptcy, the creditors have no legal rights against you. But what if you missed a creditor and didn’t list them in your filing?
Missed Creditors
Quite often, a bankruptcy client may have a debt where the creditor has given up on collection attempts. When it comes time to list all unsecured debts (credit cards, medical bills, etc), the client may forget that creditor exists and therefore the creditor is not listed in the bankruptcy. In most cases, this is not a problem.
No Assets Case
So long as your bankruptcy case was a “No Assets” case—meaning the trustee did not sell any of your property as part of the bankruptcy—then all unsecured debt, whether listed or not, is included and that debt is discharged as part of the bankruptcy. Most Chapter 7 cases that I file are no assets cases.
Honesty and Disclosure
The bankruptcy court requires honesty and disclosure from the client filing the petition. Where the client inadvertently forgets to list a creditor in a no assets case, this will not be held against the client. If a creditor insists that they have a valid claim against a client because they were not listed in the filing, a simple phone call or letter from my office reminding them of the client’s rights solves the problem.
Talk To An Attorney
The bankruptcy code is written in a way which is meant to support clients who have a legitimate need for relief. As you get more comfortable with your options in bankruptcy you’ll find many of the myths around bankruptcy are just not true. Unintentional omissions and errors in filing are easily correctable and typically have no negative impact on you.
Call me today if you’d like to discuss the reality of filing a bankruptcy, and the many ways it can change your life dramatically for the better.
Call me today at 704.49.7747 for a free phone consultation. I’m here to help.