My clients often tell me that they are scared to go before a judge. The good news is that most consumer/debtor’s who file for bankruptcy in Florida will likely never have to go before or see a judge at all.
Chapter 7 – If you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in South Florida you will be asked questions by a Bankruptcy Trustee in a 341 meeting of the creditors. This meeting is fairly casual and usually only takes a few minutes. A debtor will almost never see a judge unless there is a dispute or a motion has been filed that requires the debtor to appear and testify.
Chapter 13 – If you file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy in South Florida you, again, will be asked questions by a Bankruptcy Trustee in a 341 meeting of the creditors. If the chapter 13 is done correctly then the debtor will likely not ever have to appear before a judge.
Reasons that you will have to go before a judge – If you fail to cooperate with the bankruptcy trustee, by failing to provide documentation or any other type of information then a visit with a bankruptcy judge will be very likely.
If you are thinking about filing a Chapter 7, 11, or 13 bankruptcy in South Florida and would like to schedule a free consultation with Shmucher Law, PL and bankruptcy lawyer Ofer Shmucher then please give our office a call at 954.309.5559 or 305.741.5553.