Bankruptcy Credit Counselling and Financial Management

Under the new laws enacted in October 2005, a debtor filing for a Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy must now obtain two certificates: the first is done pre-petition filing and is called Credit Counselling, the second is done after the petition is filed and is called a Financial Management course. A list of approved providers for each particular bankruptcy district is provided on the bankruptcy website. Each phase can be done on-line, and when completed, a certificate is issued, which is needed to be filed at the appropriate time with the bankruptcy court. If these certificates are not timely filed, the Petition may be dismissed without a discharge.