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Life Cycle of a Chapter 7

Hannah Hutman, an attorney at Hoover Penrod, PLC and achapter 7 panel trustee, details the life cycle of a chapter 7 bankruptcy for consumer debtors. The process begins with the filing of the bankruptcy petition, which triggers the automatic stay and leads to the meeting of creditors. The debtor must pass the means test and file various documents, including a list of creditors, financial statements, and a statement of intention for secured property. The meeting of creditors, conducted by a trustee, provides a crucial opportunity for creditors to question the debtor. If no assets are found, a report of no distribution is filed, and the debtor must complete a personal financial management course. The discharge typically occurs 60 days after the first meeting of creditors, although exceptions and adversary proceedings may delay it.

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Keywords:

chapter 7 bankruptcy, automatic stay, meeting of creditors, means test, unexempt assets, liquidation process, debtor's duties, statement of intention, prepetition tax return, personal financial management, discharge process, credit counseling

Duration:

20 minutes 35 seconds

Hannah W. Hutman is an attorney at Hoover Penrod, PLC in Harrisonburg, Va., where her practice focuses on representing both creditors and debtors in bankruptcy proceedings under chapters 7, 11, 12 and 13 and insolvency-related matters. In addition, she frequently represents creditors in collection matters, including restructuring obligations, asset liquidations and dispositions, and foreclosures. Ms. Hutman is a member of the panel of Chapter 7 Trustees for the Western District of Virginia, and she is a past chair of the Board of Governors of the Bankruptcy Law Section for the Virginia State Bar. She is a frequent presenter on a wide variety of insolvency-related topics and co-authored a chapter in the Bankruptcy Practices in Virginia Handbook. Ms. Hutman has been active in the Virginia network of the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation and is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell, has routinely been listed in Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” and selected as a member of Virginia’s “Legal Elite,” and was honored as one of ABI’s “40 Under 40” in 2018. Ms. Hutman received her B.A. summa cum laude from Columbia Union College in Takoma Park, Md., and her J.D. from the Marshall Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.

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