If I am planing to get a bankruptcy as soon as possible, where do I begin?

Find a good bankruptcy attorney in your area. Gather together all your debt information, all your asset information, copies of your last 6 months bank statements, pay stubs and any other investment account information you have along with your last 2 filed tax returns. This information should be sufficient to provide a picture of your situation and allow the attorney to determine if you qualify for the chapter you are planning to file.

The essential information for an emergency bankruptcy is a list of all your creditors. Most bankruptcy attorneys are capable of running a credit report for you if you have not already done so. The other essential step is the mandatory credit counseling which must be done before you can file. If you intend to use an attorney, you should use the service they recommend. Otherwise, go to the U.S. Trustee's website and look up the list of approved credit counseling agencies for your state, and pick one to use. There is a fee for the course which varies among the providers, and you might qualify for discounts through a law firm you select. If you do not use an attorney, you will need to decide, among other things, which exemptions you will use to protect your assets. Non-attorney petition preparers are not allowed to advise you on the exemptions because that is considered the practice of law.

I suggest one of three paths 1) gather your financial records, pay records going back 6 months, last two tax returns and what expenses you have 2) consult with a bankruptcy attorney 3) take the mandatory pre-bankruptcy credit counseling class.

Meet with an experienced lawyer to show you what to expect.

Get your papers together: ID, Social security card, last 4 years of tax returns, pay stubs from your job for the last 6 months, and your bills, including mortgages and car payment statements, and lawsuit papers, if you have been sued. Then call for a consultation appointment. Most bankruptcy attorneys will discuss your situation briefly on the phone and have you come in for a free appointment.

I would suggest hiring an attorney in your area to handle your case for you. It is not possible to explain everything involved in a bankruptcy case in a post to a list serv. If you do not want to hire an attorney you may want to consider looking for self-help books on the topic.

Your best bet is to find a skilled bankruptcy lawyer. You could ask your friends; you could check your local yellow pages; you could search the net; you could ask you State Bar's lawyer referral program. Of course, none of these is guaranteed to find the best lawyer for you. If you are in the Madison area, you could call my office to set up an appointment. You also can get a copy of the fairly extensive forms from any legal stationer and try to do it yourself. This is almost always a bad idea. Good Luck.

You should contact a qualified atty in your area. The State Bar has a list of board certified specialists which is always a good place to start.