This document is intended to provide you with an approximate time frame of events that will occur in most Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases. Please take the time to review it. First, some important terms:

• Filing or "Petition" date: the date the Bankruptcy Court receives your documents and starts your case.
• Case or docket number: the number assigned to your bankruptcy case.
• Notice Of Commencement Of Case: the one page notice mailed by the Bankruptcy Court to you and your creditors providing information about your case, including the date for the Meeting Of Creditors.
• Meeting Of Creditors: the meeting you will attend with your attorney in Springfield; you will meet with the “Trustee” appointed in your case and any creditors that wish to attend (creditors rarely attend).
• Chapter 7 Trustee: an attorney appointed to "administer" your case; he will conduct the Meeting Of Creditors during which he will ask questions of you to confirm the information in your bankruptcy documents.

1. No earlier than six months prior to filing your bankruptcy case, you will need to complete a credit counseling course.
2. After the final meeting with your attorney, the bankruptcy documents are electronically filed with the Bankruptcy Court starting your bankruptcy case.
3. You will be mailed a complete copy of the bankruptcy documents once they are electronically filed with the Bankruptcy Court with a letter from our office advising you of the following information: a) the bankruptcy case number (a/k/a the “docket number”); b) the “filing date”; and c) the date and time for the Meeting Of Creditors.
4. About three weeks after the filing date, you and your creditors will receive the Notice Of Commencement Of Case from the Bankruptcy Court. Among other things, it should confirm the date and time for the Meeting Of Creditors. If it is different than what you were previously advised, please contact this office.
5. Soon after you receive the “Notice”, you will receive a letter from us confirming the information in the Notice. You will also receive a map and directions to locate the BankNorth Center in Springfield where the Meetings are held.
6. About six to eight weeks after the filing date, the Meeting Of Creditors will be held. The actual Meeting is usually brief, probably less than fifteen minutes, but you should allow at least an hour as delays frequently occur.
7. Soon after the Meeting Of Creditors you will receive a letter from us confirming the results of the Meeting and, in most cases, that the Trustee has filed the Trustee's Report Of No Distribution which means that the Trustee has determined that you can keep all the property you own.
8. Prior to receiving your Discharge, you will need to complete a financial management course. If you do not complete this course, your case will be closed and you will not receive your Discharge.
9. Two months have to pass from the date of the Meeting Of Creditors before you are eligible to receive your Discharge, which is soon thereafter sent directly to you from the Bankruptcy Court. Unless you have been advised differently, the receipt of your Discharge represents the end of your bankruptcy case.
10. You will receive a letter from us confirming that the case is over.