Chapter 7 is known as “straight” bankruptcy or “liquidation” and is the most commonly filed bankruptcy. If all goes well, the Chapter 7 process typically last about 3 months, starting from the time you file until the Court grants you an Order of Discharge.  Our goal is to obtain an Order of Discharge for you, which is to have all of your dischargeable debts legally forgiven by the end of the process.  This effectively prohibits the creditor to whom you owed money from ever trying to collect from you OR from reporting your debt to a credit bureau.  The Chapter 7 discharge most commonly prevents credit card companies, doctors and lawsuit plaintiffs from ever collecting from you.

Generally, those who file chapter 7 keep all of their property except property which is very valuable or which is subject to a lien that you cannot avoid or afford to pay.

If a Chapter 7 consumer does have non-exempt assets, those assets will be turned over to the bankruptcy trustee who will sell them to distribute to creditors.