You have decided to file bankruptcy and even taken the first step of finding competent counsel to help. Hopefully you have met with the attorney and he has given you some forms to fill out or told you what he needs to prepare the paperwork.
You need to get him the information right away so he can competently represent you. Those forms or the information requested will provide the basis of your bankruptcy petition, schedules and statement of financial affairs. In a chapter 7 bankruptcy it will control what assets you can keep, what needs to be surrendered (if anything) and who gets paid or discharged. In a chapter 13 bankruptcy, it will control how much your plan payments will be and for how long you will need to make them.
If you intentionally leave out an asset, you are risking losing the discharge and even going to jail. If you leave out a debt, you are risking not having that obligation discharged and being stuck having to pay it after the bankruptcy is over. And if you have paid a creditor or transferred property recently; that too, can affect the bankruptcy process.
So, the golden rule is to tell everything to the attorney. He can sort out how to deal with the issue and, in most cases, avoid problems down the line. But he can only help you, if he has all of the information.
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