What Is Next After Filing Bankruptcy?

File Additional Documents in a Timely Manner

Once you submit your initial bankruptcy petition, you will have additional documentation you must file with the court in order to receive your discharge. If you filed what is known as an "emergency petition," which is a bare-bones filing designed to start the process, you must complete the rest of the petition within approximately two weeks to avoid dismissal. Additionally, before you can receive a discharge, but after you file your petition, you have to go to a financial counseling class. You must provide the court with written proof that you completed it no more than 45 days after your Section 341 meeting.

A mandatory requirement after you file your bankruptcy petition is to attend the Section 341 meeting. At this meeting, you must answer questions under oath about your petition, usually just to the bankruptcy trustee but also to any creditors who appear. If you file Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you must go to an additional hearing at which the court will review the suggested payment plan you filed in your papers. If you miss either of these meetings, the likely result is case dismissal.

When you receive your bankruptcy discharge, your creditors should report that your accounts with them have a zero balance and that they were included in your bankruptcy. If a creditor continues to report that you owe a balance, your credit score will not rebound as quickly. To improve your credit as quickly as possible after bankruptcy, verify that your credit report shows correct and updated information.

One of the greatest gifts of bankruptcy is freedom from the harassment of creditors. While the discharge of your debt at the end of your case means you no longer owe your creditors, you receive protection from phone calls and letters much earlier in the case. In fact, as soon as your creditors are made aware that you filed bankruptcy, which usually takes no longer than a few days, any attempt to contact you is a violation of bankruptcy's "automatic stay."