Bankruptcy can be complicated and if you decide you want to file by your self you are legally able to represent yourself in front of court and in front of your creditors when you file bankruptcy. However, there are times when it doesn’t matter how much are bankruptcy attorney fees. In once such case is when an adversary proceeding is filed against you by a creditor.
What is an adversary proceeding in relation to bankruptcy?
This is where any of the three parties can request a hearing in front of a judge about any debt. There are typically three people that can request an adversary proceeding and which is the trustee, the creditor or the debtor. If the creditor has filed it typically means they are objecting to the debt being discharged in bankruptcy.
What happens during the proceeding?
In certain circumstances the creditor will try to prove the debtor knowingly used the credit card under the pretense of filing bankruptcy and they have to prove to the judge that was the debtor’s intention. In other cases someone who has been sued for property damage or may have a law suit from an accident may challenge the debt to know be discharged.
In other situations where the trustee has filed an adversary proceeding they may try to prove the debtor knowingly was committing fraud by filing bankruptcy or they knowingly did not fill out their schedules correctly.
The debtor is also protected under these proceedings which allow them to file against their creditor to try to get recover damages if they can prove the creditors’ action violated the bankruptcy code. This may happen if the creditor continues to try to collect on a debt that was discharged in bankruptcy.
Although the name adversary proceeding and the processes can be intimidating this typically can be avoided by discussing these issues with the creditor or the trustee and either making changes or settling before court. This is where having a bankruptcy attorney will help by acting as a proxy for these problems.