How it works
Six entries, from the first call to the last
The same six steps in every case, whichever way through fits. Each one is a line you can check off.
- 01
Step 1: The free call
A lawyer on video for about thirty minutes. You say what you owe; we ask what you earn and own.
- 02
Step 2: Both columns, totaled
We run the means test and list what you would keep, then tell you which way fits, or that none does yet.
- 03
Step 3: One page, one price
One flat fee on one page. The Chapter 7 fee can be paid in three installments before we file.
- 04
Step 4: Papers, and the first course
You upload pay stubs, statements and tax returns, or mail them, and take the short credit-counseling course online.
- 05
Step 5: Filing day
We file. The court’s order to stop collecting begins, and notices go to your creditors and, if wages are garnished, your payroll office.
- 06
Step 6: The meeting, and after
A trustee asks about your papers, usually for a few minutes, with a lawyer beside you. Chapter 7 ends in about four months, and a Chapter 13 plan runs three to five years.
What the court asks of you
Three habits that keep a case smooth
None is hard. Each is a thing people tell us they wish they’d known on day one.
List everything
Every debt, even one to a cousin, and everything you own. A missing line can cost more than the debt would have.
Answer quickly
When the trustee or the court asks for a paper, a late answer is the commonest reason a case drags. We chase it with you.
Tell us what changes
A raise, a new job, a tax refund, a move: say so. We tell you what it does to the case, and often it does nothing.
Where we meet
A short walk from Big Spring Park
Nearly every meeting is by video, so most clients never see the office.
It is on Franklin Street in downtown Huntsville, open by appointment for anyone who would rather sign at a table than at a screen. Bring the folder; we will have the coffee on.
Begin with step one
The first call is free and by video. Bring what you have.