Credit Counseling & Debtor Education
Under the new bankruptcy law you have to file a credit counseling course prior to your case being filed. This is a new requirement that we did not have under the old laws. There are many approved credit counseling agencies that offer this. Our firm uses bkcert.com.
The second course is the debtor education or financial management course. This course required by law to be completed within 45 days after your meeting of creditors. You can also take before, but you have to make sure that your case has been filed. If you fail to take this course prior to discharge, once your case reaches the date of when it is suppose to be discharged, the courts will close your case without the discharge. You will then have to pay attorney fees of $650 to reopen the case to file the certificate with the courts. It is very important that you take the course when you are supposed to. In a chapter 13 however, you have until discharge, which could be as long as 3-5 years away. The chapter 13 trustee offers this course when you go to your meeting of creditors in the morning. It is strongly recommended that you take it then. It does not cost anything and you can have the certificate and not worry about. You may even forget about once the 3 or 5 years comes up. If you miss the seminar with the Chapter 13 trustee, then you can take it for a small fee through an approved agency.
If you as a client have any questions or concerns about taking these courses, you should contact your attorney’s office right away.
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