The United States Constitution provides authority to Congress to enact “uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies.” With this power, Congress passed the “Bankruptcy Code” in 1978. The Bankruptcy Code, which is codified as title 11 of the United States Code, has been amended various times since its establishment. It is the uniform federal law that outlines all bankruptcy circumstances.

The procedural facets of the bankruptcy system are handled by the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (often called the “Bankruptcy Rules”) and local rules of each bankruptcy court. The Bankruptcy Rules contain a collection of official forms for usage in bankruptcy situations. The Bankruptcy Code and Bankruptcy Rules (and local rules) spell out the proper legal procedures for dealing with the debt problems of consumers and businesses.

There are specific bankruptcy courts for each judicial district in the country. Every state has at least one district. There are 90 bankruptcy districts throughout the nation. The bankruptcy courts generally have their own clerk’s offices.

The court official with decision-making authority over federal bankruptcy situations is the US bankruptcy judge, a judicial officer of the United states district court. The bankruptcy judge might determine any issue connected with a bankruptcy case, such as eligibility to file or whether or not a debtor should get a discharge of debts. A lot of the bankruptcy process is administrative in nature, however, and is performed away from the courthouse. In cases under chapters 7, 12, or 13, and from time to time in chapter 11 situations, this administrative procedure is executed by a trustee who is appointed to oversee the situation.

A debtor’s involvement with the bankruptcy judge is generally quite small. A normal chapter 7 debtor will not appear in court and will not appear before the bankruptcy judge except if an objection is raised in the court case. A chapter 13 debtor may only have to appear before the bankruptcy judge at a plan confirmation hearing. Commonly, the only official proceeding at which a debtor will need to appear is the meeting of creditors, which is typically scheduled at the offices of the U.S. trustee. This conference is informally known as a “341 conference” because section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code requires that the debtor show up at this meeting so that creditors can interview the debtor about debts and property.

Making the decision of whether or not to file for debt can be complicated. A Michigan debt lawyer can help you address your concerns. You may have many questions that require answers. Talk with a local Southfield debt lawyer about your options. Get debt help today.