New Client Information

Directions to Your Hearing

Please check your notice of hearing that you should receive from the United States Bankruptcy Court no later than 1 week after your case has been filed. It should list the date and time of your court hearing or hearings (if a Chapter 13 client). Below are links to each divisional office in the Northern District of Georgia. Please make sure that you know how to get to your hearing! This is a court appearance and you CANNOT BE LATE.

• ATLANTA DIVISION
  75 Spring Street, Atlanta, Georgia
  PHONE: 404-215-1000
  DIRECTIONS TO THE COURTHOUSE

• NEWNAN DIVISION
  18 Greenville Street, Newnan, Georgia
  PHONE: 678-428-3000
  DIRECTIONS TO THE COURTHOUSE

• GAINESVILLE DIVISION
  18 Greenville Street, Newnan, Georgia
  PHONE: 678-450-2700
  DIRECTIONS TO THE COURTHOUSE

• ROME DIVISION
  600 East First Street, Rome, Georgia 30161
  PHONE: 706-378-4000
  DIRECTIONS TO THE COURTHOUSE

Chapter 13

Filing your case is only the first step in a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. In order to ensure that your case is confirmed (please see Bankruptcy Terms and Definitions ) there are still several steps required in order to ensure that your case is confirmed (i.e. approved by the court).

• If you did not pull a credit report before you filed your case. Pull one to make sure that ALL of your debts are listed in your case. Please click here for more information on obtaining your credit report. Only those debts obtained PRIOR to filing can be listed in your Chapter 13 case.
• Calendar your 341 Meeting of Creditors so that you do not miss the hearing. It is YOUR responsibility to attend this hearing. This hearing is mandatory and failure to attend this hearing may result in the dismissal of your case. If you have not received a notice from the court within 10 days from filing your case CONTACT OUR OFFICE ASAP!
• If your Chapter 13 Trustee payments are coming out of your check monitor your check to make sure that these payments are being deducted. If they are NOT being deducted within two weeks of filing your case CALL OUR OFFICE IMMEDIATELY so that we may see what the problem is. Remember, you must make your monthly trustee payment EVERY month otherwise your case will be dismissed. If the money is not taken from your check your must send it it directly to your Chapter 13 Trustee.
• ONLY SEND PHOTOCOPIES TO OUR OFFICE. NEVER SUBMIT ORIGINALS!!! PLEASE ALSO MAKE A COPY FOR YOURSELF BECAUSE ONCE YOUR CASE IS CONFIRMED OR CLOSED YOUR FILE WILL BE SENT TO STORAGE AND THEIR IS A $20 FEE TO RETRIEVE ANY DOCUMENTS.
• One of the new requirements of the new bankruptcy law is that all persons filing for bankruptcy must have filed tax returns for the past four years and provide the trustee a copy of the latest filed year. This information must be received PRIOR to the 341 Meeting of Creditors otherwise the trustee may move to dismiss the case for non-compliance.
• Attend your 341 Meeting of Creditors. This hearing is very informal. You do not need to wear a suit to attend. An attorney from our office will be with you the entire time. Most cases will draw small objections from the trustee . DO NOT PANIC . We will record these objections and then let you know what needs to be corrected prior to your confirmation hearing. After the hearing is conducted you will receive the trustee's written objections in the mail. DO NOT PANIC if you see that the trustee is "moving to dismiss your case ." This is a standard letter that goes out. We are also served a copy of this letter so that we can ensure that all issues are resolved prior to confirmation. For a list of questions that will be asked at the meeting please click here.
• Complete all tasks given to you by the attorney from our office ASAP in preparation for your confirmation hearing . You will be assigned a paralegal who will be working with you to obtain al documents and information requested by the Chapter 13 Trustee. If all objections are cleared AT LEAST 10 days prior to the confirmation date there is a good chance you will not have to attend the hearing. Please call our office to confirm. You are REQUIRED to attend all court hearings unless told otherwise by our office.
• Set up an account with the National Data Center to monitor your case and see all claims that are filed and paid on your behalf. Please remember that it is YOUR responsibility to monitor all claims filed in your case and let us know if their is a problem. Once your case is confirmed you MUST make an appointment to come into our office to review all claims that have been filed to ensure that they are correct and that all secured creditors have filed claims in your case.
• If you have another attorney that you are working with on a case you MUST let us know ASAP so that we can forward an application to employ professional to that attorney. Failure to do so could result in your forfeiting any monies obtained from a judgment to the court for failure to disclose the lawsuit.
• If you run a business and the Chapter 13 Trustee has set a special business 341 meeting of creditors please make sure that you have complete the business questionaire sent to you by the trustee AT LEAST 1 WEEK PRIOR to the hearing. You must also submit a photocopy of this information to our office at least 1 week prior to your hearing date.

After Your Case Has Been Confirmed: Chapter 13

• Continue to maintain full coverage liability insurance on your home and/or your car, otherwise the creditor may be able to repossess the vehicle.
• Contact Saedi & Wells IMMEDIATELY if you are unable to make your monthly trustee or mortgage payment. Failure to continue making these payments will result in the dismissal of your case.
• THE SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF YOUR CASE DEPENDS ON YOU! THESE NEXT FEW MONTHS ARE CRITICAL TO YOUR CASE. THE ATTORNEYS AT SAEDI & WELLS ARE HERE TO ASSIST YOU BUT CANNOT MAKE YOUR CASE WITHOUT YOU!!!
• Contact Saedi & Wells IMMEDIATELY if you change jobs since we must file a new employer deduction order in order for your Chapter 13 payments to be automatically taken from your new paycheck.
• ANY notices of hearings that you may received MUST be attended. If you receive a notice of hearing from the court you MUST contact Saedi & Wells IMMEDIATELY. Failure to attend court hearings could result in the dismissal of your case or repossession of your property.
• While in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy you must submit BOTH your federal and state tax refunds to the Chapter 13 Trustee to pay towards your debt. The trustee is not keeping your money but using the funds to pay off YOUR creditors. If you usually receive a large refund each year it may be advisable to speak with your payroll department to ensure that you are not overpaying in taxes each year.
• Every six months you will receive a trustee report which indicates where the funds you are paying into the case are going. It is VERY important that you review this report for any errors or inaccuracies. Failure to review this report and contact our office or any errors may result in creditors being paid monies that they are not owed. Please note that you can go the National Data Center for 24 hour access to your Chapter 13 case.
• Prior to receiving your discharge you must attend a Pre-Discharge Financial Management course through one of the approved agencies in the Northern District of Georgia. Once you have completed this course you are required to fax or email this certificate to our office so that we can file it with the court. Failure to complete this course and file the certificate will result in your case being dismissed.

New Client Information: Chapter 7

• If you did not pull a credit report before you filed your case. Pull one to make sure that ALL of your debts are listed in your case. Please click here for more information on obtaining your credit report.
• Calendar your 341 Meeting of Creditors so that you do not miss the hearing. It is YOUR responsibility to attend this hearing. This hearing is mandatory and failure to attend this hearing may result in the dismissal of your case.
• If you have a vehicle that you are "upside down in" you may be a good candidate for redeeming your vehicle. A third party company can refinance your car loan so that you keep your same car but refinance only the actual value of the car. In some cases you can even obtain another vehicle and trade your existing one in while in Chapter 7. Please contact with Tami Wells Thomas or Lorena Saedi for additional information
• One of the new requirements of the new bankruptcy law is that all persons filing for bankruptcy must have filed tax returns for the past four years and provide the trustee a copy of the latest filed year. This information must be received 1 week PRIOR to the 341 Meeting of Creditors otherwise the trustee may move to dismiss the case for non-compliance.
• Attend your 341 Meeting of Creditors. This hearing is very informal. You do not need to wear a suit to attend. An attorney from our office will be with you the entire time.
• If you are keeping any secured items like a home or a car many creditors will want you to reaffirm this debt by signing a reaffirmation agreement. These agreements are time sensitive so you must pay close attention to all correspondence received from our office regarding these agreements.
• Within 45 days after your 341 Meeting of Creditors you must attend a Pre-Discharge Financial Management course through one of the approved agencies in the Northern District of Georgia. Once you have completed this course you are required to fax or email this certificate to our office so that we can file it with the court. Failure to complete this course and file the certificate will result in your case being dismissed.
• When you receive your discharge paper please put it in a safe place as many future creditors may ask to see a copy of the document to ensure that you are indeed out of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

Issue That Can Keep Your Chapter 7 Case Open: Chapter 7

• Usually at the meeting of creditors the Chapter 7 trustee will announce any outstanding issue he or she may have with your case. However, sometimes either the Chapter 7 Trustee or the United States Trustee may request that you provide additional documentation in order to receive your discharge. If this occurs you are required to comply ASAP. The trustee can request up to 6 months of income statement and proof of expenses if needed.
• If a creditor feels that their debt should not be discharged by a matter or law, they will can file an objection to discharge to determine if the debt can be wiped out in a Chapter 7 case. If this occurs you will need to contact our office ASAP and come in for a review of the claim. A trial may be set in order to determine of this debt CAN be discharged in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Please see our FAQ sections for more information on those debts which CANNOT be discharged in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
• If the Chapter 7 trustee finds that you have MORE EQUITY in your home than you disclosed and this equity is over your state allowed exemption, they can make a motion to sell your home and distribute the proceeds to your creditors accordingly. If this happens you will either have to convert your case to a Chapter 13 and repay all creditors, allow the trustee to sell your property and keep the exemption amount allowed by your state of residence, or repay the Chapter 7 trustee for the equity amount found OVER what you initially listed. This is a complex process. Before filing Chapter 7 you should have your a recent appraisal of your home done to ensure that you are not under any risk of losing your property.