Can I File Bankruptcy Without Coming to the Office?

You work all day, you have kids at home, or you just can’t face sitting in a lawyer’s waiting room. Maybe you’ve put off calling about bankruptcy because you pictured taking days off for appointments.

In most cases, you can do the whole thing from home. I handle consultations by phone or video, sign clients by video, and file electronically, and the meeting with the trustee is held online. Here is how each step works.

Can I really file bankruptcy without meeting a lawyer in person?

Yes. Nothing in the bankruptcy process requires you to sit across a desk from your lawyer.

What it does require is a real lawyer who talks with you, reviews your documents and explains your options. Remote should mean the same advice delivered a different way, not a form you fill out with no one on the other end. If you are comparing offices, this is what to look for.

How does the consultation work?

I can handle the first consultation by phone or by video, whichever you prefer. I ask about your income, your household, your debts, what you own and what is pushing you to call now, such as a lawsuit, a garnishment or a foreclosure date.

After the call, I usually ask for a few documents, like a credit report and recent pay stubs, so I can tell you which chapter fits. Chapter 7 wipes out most unsecured debt in a few months, and Chapter 13 is a three- to five-year repayment plan that can save a house or car.

How do I get my documents to the lawyer safely?

You send copies, never originals. A clean scan or a clear phone photo of each page usually works, and email is fine for most documents.

Your paperwork carries your Social Security number, account numbers and pay information, which is exactly what identity thieves want. Send it only the way I ask you to, never through social media or a texting app.

For the full list of what a lawyer needs, see documents required to file bankruptcy. Getting everything in early is the single biggest thing you can do to keep the case moving.

How do I sign the bankruptcy papers if I’m not in the office?

Before the signing, I send you the finished petition and schedules, the forms that list your income, expenses, debts and property. Then I walk you through them on a video call, page by page, so you can ask questions and catch anything that is wrong.

You sign where the forms require and send the signed pages back. I make any corrections, and then the case is ready to file.

Your signature is a sworn statement. The petition says you declare under penalty of perjury that the information is true and correct.

Reviewing every page on video is not a shortcut around that. It is how you make sure what you sign is accurate.

I keep the signed pages. Each court has its own rules on how a debtor’s signature is collected and how long the lawyer has to keep the signed documents. I follow the rules of the court where your case is filed.

How is the case filed?

Electronically. Lawyers file bankruptcy cases through the court’s online filing system, so no one has to carry papers to the courthouse in DC, Greenbelt or Alexandria.

The automatic stay, the court order that stops most collection, takes effect the moment the case is filed. That means a remote filing stops a garnishment or a foreclosure sale just as fast as a paper one would. Where you file depends on where you live, so see where to file if you have moved recently.

Do I have to go to court for the meeting of creditors?

No. The meeting of creditors, also called the 341 meeting, is the short session where the bankruptcy trustee, the officer appointed to review your case, asks you questions under oath about your paperwork. It is not a court hearing, and there is no judge.

The U.S. Trustee Program, the part of the Justice Department that oversees bankruptcy trustees, holds almost all 341 meetings by Zoom video. The notice you get from the court after filing tells you exactly how to join, with the meeting ID and passcode, and the trustee may send more instructions.

Plan to appear on camera. Debtors are generally expected to join by video, from a phone, tablet or computer. Joining by phone alone is meant for people who have no video device or have trouble connecting that day, and it can lead to the meeting being rescheduled.

The trustee needs your ID. Before the meeting, the trustee needs a copy of your photo ID and proof of your Social Security number, and I make sure the trustee gets them.

I also prepare you for the questions ahead of time. For what the trustee asks, see what a 341 hearing is.

What about the two bankruptcy courses?

Both can be taken online. The first, credit counseling, has to be completed within the 180 days before you file. The second, a debtor education course on managing money, is taken after you file and has to be finished before you can get your discharge, the court order that wipes out your debts.

Each course has to come from a provider approved by the U.S. Trustee Program. Approved providers offer the courses online, by phone or in person, and they have to offer them free or at a reduced rate if you can’t afford the fee.

The provider sends a certificate when you finish. For more on what the courses involve, see the bankruptcy courses.

Will I ever have to appear in person?

In a routine Chapter 7 case, the 341 meeting is usually the only event you attend, and it is held online. Chapter 13 adds a confirmation hearing, where the judge decides whether to approve your repayment plan, and whether you need to attend depends on the court and on your case.

If something in your case does need you in a courtroom, such as a contested hearing, I will tell you well ahead of time. If you already have a lawyer in a filed case, ask that lawyer how your court handles hearings.

What should I do right now?

If you are thinking about bankruptcy but can’t get to an office, call me at (202) 448-5136. I can talk with you by phone, or set up a video call if you prefer.

The consultation is free. I will tell you which chapter fits, what documents I need and how quickly the case can be filed.

I handle bankruptcy in DC, in Maryland at the Greenbelt courthouse, and in the Eastern District of Virginia. Don’t wait. The case can start from your kitchen table.