Bankruptcy Credit Counseling

Some people grow a little concerned when they hear that they have to complete bankruptcy credit counseling courses in order to receive a discharge. Be aware of this but don't sweat it.

In a Chapter 13, the Trustee will offer the required courses but Chapter 7 debtors are to take the courses on their own. There are two different credit counseling courses that debtors must take. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy there is a pre-filing class that must be taken within the six months prior to filing and a debtor education course that must be taken after the 341 hearing but before the discharge.

When you pass the pre-filing course, you are issued a certificate that gets filed with your case. The debtor education certificate will also be filed with the court after you pass that class.

These classes can be taken online and I found them pretty easy. If memory serves, the pre-filing bankruptcy credit counseling course took about two hours and the second one was less that that. The bankruptcy courses that I took cost between 35 and 50 dollars at that time.

One thing you must do is make sure that the classes you take are from a debtor education company that is government approved for your state, otherwise it won't count.

I used Springboard here in California and was pretty happy with it. I think they gave me 20 dollars off on the second course after I took the first one. Your bankruptcy attorney should be able to give you a recommend a good qualifying credit counseling agency.

Here is a link to the government approved companies providing debtor education by state (from the government web site):

Government Approved Bankruptcy Credit Counseling Classes

Good Luck To All!

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