Credit Counseling Is Required

CREDIT COUNSELING IS REQUIRED

Before you can file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy case, you must have completed a credit counseling briefing from an approved credit counseling agency.  Said approval must come from the executive office of the United States Trustee.

The briefing can be done over the telephone or over the internet.  The internet briefing takes approximately 45 minutes to complete.  Upon completion, a certificate of completion is sent to you and to your attorney. 

There is one Judge in the Northern District of Illinois who has held that the briefing must be completed at least one calendar date prior to the date of filing.  If not, the case may be dismissed for non-compliance with the bankruptcy code.

If you do not have internet access, you can take the required briefing over the telephone.  At the time of this writing, there is approximately a two week wait to receive a telephonic briefing.  Hopefully, that time gap will be shortened so that those without internet access are not unduly prejudiced.

I have yet to have a client decide not to file for bankruptcy as a result of the credit counseling briefing.  It was the legislatures hope that many would decide not to file bankruptcy after receiving the briefing.  They had hoped that debtors would enter into a non-bankruptcy debt repayment plan instead.  This would greatly benefit the creditors, specifically, unsecured creditors.  The reality is that the credit counseling briefing is simply taking $50.00 out of the pocket of debtors.  That money is not reaching the creditors, but rather, the credit counseling agency.

Some have encountered a difficult time following the prompts on the internet briefing.  Many have been unable to complete the briefing on their first attempt.  Unsophisticated debtors are finding the credit counseling briefing process difficult and non-productive. 

The credit counseling briefing seems to be just another hurdle that honest debtors must jump in order to receive the fresh start that they deserve.

David M. Siegel is the author of Chapter 7 Success: The Complete Guide to Surviving Personal Bankruptcy

For Further Information Contact:
David M. Siegel
790 Chaddick Drive
Wheeling, IL  60090
(847) 520-8100
www.bankruptcy-lawyers-chicago.com
davidmsiegel@hotmail.com

Back to Bankruptcy Articles