When you file a bankruptcy case, you may get a letter from a company that makes it seem as if you have to take a course from them, now that you have filed for bankruptcy. You don’t.
Read the letter carefully, because it might be an advertisement for the Financial Management Course that is given by a number of different companies. I find some of the letters to be misleading since many debtors receive these letters and think that they must use that company, not realizing that it is an advertisement.
Most of my clients just use the same company that they use for the credit counseling course they had to take before filing. Any lawyer who represents a bankruptcy client should have a list of companies, and probably has a favorite company that they work with.
Before filing for bankruptcy, you have to take a special bankruptcy credit counseling course or you are not eligible to file for bankruptcy. This is not a debt management program, but a specific credit counseling course you must take in order to file for bankruptcy.
After filing you have to take a second course called the Financial Management Course, or Debtor Education Course, or you won’t receive a discharge. There are a number of U.S. Trustee approved companies that give these courses. I recommend Hummingbird Credit Counseling and the Institute for Financial Literacy for pre-bankruptcy counseling since their focus is on education.
See also: You Can’t Borrow Your Way Out Of Debt: Debt Management Programs by Susanne Robicsek, Charlotte NC Bankruptcy Lawyer, Bankruptcy Law Network, December 29, 2007
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