A bankruptcy certificate is a required part of the process for both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 filings. If you’re filing for personal bankruptcy in California, you’ll need to find U.S. Trustee Program approved classes so you can get the bankruptcy certificate you need.
If you’re filing for bankruptcy, you will hopefully hear this certificate mentioned a lot, because it’s an essential part of completing your filing and because you will need to plan for the time you will need for both the credit counseling class and debtor education course. It’s important to note that you will take the credit counseling class before you file for bankruptcy and the debtor education course post-filing.
How hard is it to get a bankruptcy certificate?
Everyone’s experience is subjective. Generally speaking, the bankruptcy certificate isn’t difficult to earn. The tricky part for some may be making sure they know what they need to do.
The pre-bankruptcy credit counseling will likely take one to two hours and cost under a hundred dollars. This is a personalized counseling session. It will connect you with someone to help you understand your finances in the past, where you’re going and help you confirm that filing bankruptcy is the right decision for you. The certificate from this session will be good for 180 days.
The debtor education course is similar in that it will take approximately two hours of your time and cost one hundred dollars or less. Take this class after filing for bankruptcy. Discharging your debts happens after receiving the bankruptcy certificate from this class. The class will focus on budgeting and finance tips for your future after bankruptcy.
Timing is important for these classes, but they aren’t too difficult to take. If the cost of them is prohibitive, you can request a waiver for the fees. Once completed, you’ll have a bankruptcy certificate and be one step closer to completing the legal process.