Being faced with going to court for any reason can be an extremely unnerving experience particularly if it is for a bankruptcy case. People who are faced with bankruptcy court often wonder what the experience is going to be like and if they are going to be treated like a common criminal by everyone from the judge to their own attorneys. While no two bankruptcy court cases are alike, there are some commonalities that people who may be facing bankruptcy should know about the court proceedings. Some may seem more important than others but they are all things that people have asked about when going to court for bankruptcy.
- First of all, the court proceedings for bankruptcy cases typically take about an hour with most of that time spent waiting for your part of the hearing which actually only lasts between five and ten minutes.
- Your attorney will be present at the hearing so you won’t have to face the situation alone.
- In all likelihood, you won’t ever end up talking to or even seeing a judge. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy cases are almost always heard by another attorney who has been appointed to the post for case administration. This person is known as a Bankruptcy Trustee and is the person who you will see during the few minutes that you are involved in the hearing.
- The creditors in question will not be at your hearing. On rare occasions they a creditor representative shows up to find out if the debtor wishes to reaffirm the debt but that doesn’t happen very often. If it does, your attorney will advise you as to what to do or say.
- Don’t make the situation “bigger than it is.” Too many people who are facing bankruptcy court dates are under the misapprehension that it is on the same level as a criminal trial. Nothing could be farther from the truth. As long as you have been honest with your attorney, the hearing will probably be surprisingly quick and painless.
