What to Do After Filing Chapter 7

Filing is the beginning, not the end, of a Chapter 7 case. These steps protect your discharge and your fresh start.

Before the discharge

1. Attend the 341 meeting. Bring photo ID and proof of your Social Security number. The trustee asks questions under oath about your filing.
2. Respond to the trustee. Provide any requested documents, such as tax returns or bank statements, on time.
3. Take the debtor education course from an approved provider and make sure the certificate is filed; without it, the case can close without a discharge (US Trustee Program).
4. Decide on reaffirmation. To keep a financed car or other secured property, you may sign a reaffirmation agreement, which makes you personally liable again. It must be filed and can be rescinded within certain deadlines (11 U.S.C. 524(c)). Think carefully and get advice.
5. Report changes: inheritances received within 180 days of filing, address changes, or new information.
6. Avoid new debt and do not transfer property.

After the discharge

• Keep your discharge order permanently.
• Check your credit reports from all three bureaus. Discharged debts should show a zero balance and "discharged in bankruptcy." Dispute errors.
• Watch for collectors. Collecting on a discharged debt violates the discharge injunction. Send the discharge order and contact your lawyer if collection continues.

Rebuilding credit

• Get a secured credit card, use it lightly and pay in full monthly.
• Consider a credit-builder loan from a credit union.
• Pay every bill on time; payment history is the biggest scoring factor.
• Keep balances low.
• Build an emergency fund to avoid new debt.

Many people see scores begin recovering within a year or two.

Your rights after bankruptcy

Government agencies cannot discriminate against you solely because of bankruptcy, and private employers cannot fire you solely because you filed (11 U.S.C. 525).

What you should not do

• Do not hide assets or income.
• Do not run up credit right before or after filing.
• Do not pay back one creditor in a way that favors them before filing.

If a creditor violates the discharge, a bankruptcy lawyer can enforce it. See also what debt collectors can legally do.

Sources

1. United States Courts: Chapter 7 bankruptcy basics
2. U.S. Trustee Program: Credit counseling and debtor education
3. Cornell Law School LII: 11 U.S.C. 524(c), Reaffirmation agreements
4. Cornell Law School LII: 11 U.S.C. 525, Protection against discriminatory treatment