The simplest and most often preferred form of filing bankruptcy is Chapter 7, also called a “straight” bankruptcy. Its most salient feature is that an authorized person, called a “trustee”, takes management of your property for their sale. The profits of the sale then in turn, go to cover your debts to your creditors.
In 2002, Illinois registered a total of 60, 630 Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings, almost thrice that of filings for Chapter 13. The clear point is that more people should be educated about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Illinois, because one may never know, in these trying times, if they would need the protection of the bankruptcy code.
There are 5 steps in the process of a Chapter 7:
Filing and Scheduling
As you may know, any individual, partnership or corporation can file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The amount of debt is irrelevant, as is the fact of insolvency or solvency. The petition should be filed on the Court district serving the area where you lived for the past six months or where your business is operating
At the same time, you submit to the court a schedule of your debt, list of income, expenditures, contracts, and potential lawsuits – basically your whole financial status. Every debt must be declared. If a debt was not declared, then the court will not have the power to cancel it, if it can be cancelled.
The Stay
The court then orders your creditors to stop collecting or contacting you. This is one of the respites Chapter 7 affords to its grantees: the protection from undue harassment from creditors.
341 Meeting
The 341 meting is the meeting of creditors, and is done after filing a Chapter 7. It is important to note that you must attend this meeting, while your creditors can but might nit. This is because they are not compelled by law to appear; they may be represented by counsels or other people. In any case, in this step, a trustee will question you under oath some pertinent facts about your financial situation.
Claims
The creditors will have 60 days after the meeting in convincing the court you should not be allowed to be set free from your debts. They can file a claim against the debtor, claiming any asset that can be used to pay your debts.
Discharge and Liquidation
The trustee then liquidates your assets and uses them to pay your debts. He discharges the remaining debts, meaning you are free from them. However you must also take into consideration that not all debts are dischargeable, like alimony, child support, tax obligations and student loans.
After it is done, a person who filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Illinois must wait another six years so he can file another one again. In Illinois, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy can be a daunting, stringent process that requires knowledge and experience. For this you would need a reliable bankruptcy attorney you can trust.
Source
http://www.bankruptcyinformation.com/IL.htm
