Verification of All Information Important in Bankruptcy
By Däna Wilkinson, Attorney at Law on Jul 28, 2009 in General Bankruptcy Information
Last week I was attending a meeting of creditors in a Chapter 13 case. I tell my clients who are nervous at the thought of attending a meeting of creditors that no one is ever going to make a television show about bankruptcy court–it’s just boring.
Most of the time, the trustees ask the same series of questions in pretty much every case. So when the trustee in my case varied the program, it got my attention. She asked my client, a burly mechanic, whether he had ever used the alias Susan.
I hate when my clients are asked questions I haven’t asked them first, and that question had certainly never occurred to me. Turns out the problem was that someone named Susan, apparently in error, had filed a bankruptcy case listing my client’s social security number as hers.
After confirming the client’s social security number, the case moved forward, but it served as a reminder to me of the reason we go through all the picky little details in preparing to file a case. Someone’s error in that social security number could have caused errors in my client’s credit report, and could have prevented Susan’s credit report from correctly reflecting her bankruptcy discharge.
I know I drive my clients crazy with requests for documents, and updating documents they’ve already given me. But there is a reason for all the picky requests and procedures. The reason may not be apparent, but it’s there somewhere, and it will work out in your favor in the end.
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