The first step to hiring an attorney to help you with filing a Chapter 7 is to contact the attorney’s office either by telephone or email. You may contact The Law Office of Brian P. Buchert, P.A. by phone at
(813) 434-0570 or by email at info@buchertlawoffice.com. Once you have contacted the bankruptcy attorney, we will conduct a telephone interview to make sure that you are eligible to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If for some reason you are ineligible to file a Chapter 7, we will propose alternative courses of action to help you with your situation.
If it does appear that you are eligible to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, we will then schedule a free consultation to meet in person and go over your case. You will review your case with an experienced and knowledgeable attorney, not a paralegal, who will verify that your information and explain in detail the Chapter 7 bankruptcy process.
If you decide that filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the right course of action for you, then you may start the bankruptcy filing process by putting down a small down payment (a “retainer”). Once you have paid the retainer, you have taken the first step in protecting yourself from your creditors. Once you have hired a lawyer to represent you, the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act requires all creditors and collections agencies to deal with your case only through your attorney. As soon as you hire our firm, you may tell your creditors and the collections agencies to “talk to your attorney.”
From there, your attorney will work with you to gather all the necessary paperwork and information to complete your Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. Your attorney will prepare all of the necessary Chapter 7 forms and paperwork, will review and explain it all to you at the office when you sign your Petition, and will file the appropriate paperwork in the United States Bankruptcy Court to begin your Chapter 7. Your attorney will then represent you through the entire Chapter 7 process until you receive your discharge and your case is officially closed.