Walking into a bankruptcy consultation with your documents in order changes the whole experience. You spend less time reconstructing your financial picture from memory and more time getting answers to the questions that actually matter. This checklist is designed to help you walk in ready. Whether you’ve been dealing with wage garnishment, a foreclosure notice, or credit card debt that’s simply gotten out of reach, coming prepared makes a real difference.
What Our Attorneys Need to See
When you sit down with one of our attorneys, the goal is to build a complete picture of four things: your income, your monthly expenses, your debts, and your assets. That picture determines which chapter may make sense for your situation and, just as importantly, what property we can work to protect.
Georgia doesn’t allow bankruptcy filers to use federal exemptions. Under Ga. Code Ann. § 44-13-100, residents must apply Georgia’s state exemptions, which cover things like a portion of home equity, vehicles up to a certain value, retirement accounts, and personal property. Knowing what you own and what it’s worth is exactly how we figure out what Georgia law lets you keep. That’s why asset documentation matters just as much as debt documentation in a Georgia filing.
If you don’t have every item on this list before your first appointment, don’t let that stop you from coming in. Bring what you have and be ready to describe anything that’s missing. The consultation is a conversation, not an audit.
One Required Step Before You File
Before any bankruptcy petition can be filed, federal law requires completing a credit counseling course from a U.S. Trustee-approved agency. This requirement was established under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 and applies to virtually every individual filer. The course must be completed within 180 days before filing, and it produces a certificate that gets submitted along with your petition. Skipping this step can result in case dismissal.
There’s also a second course required after filing. Before your debts can be discharged, you must complete a debtor education course from an approved provider. We can point you toward approved agencies for both so you’re not searching on your own.
Bankruptcy Preparation Checklist
This checklist covers everything our attorneys typically need to evaluate your case. Cases vary, so there may be additional items we ask about at your appointment.
Photo ID & Social Security Card
Bring a government-issued photo ID and your Social Security card or a document showing your full Social Security number. You’ll need both at the 341 meeting of creditors (the brief hearing held by the bankruptcy trustee after you file), and we’ll want to verify them at your consultation as well.
Pay Stubs
Bring the last 60 days of pay stubs. If you’re self-employed, bring all income and business expense records for the last six months. This information feeds directly into the Chapter 7 means test, which determines whether your income qualifies you for Chapter 7, and into the feasibility analysis for a Chapter 13 repayment plan.
Tax Returns
State and federal returns for the last two years. If you’re self-employed, bring two years of returns along with any supporting schedules.
Bank Statements
The last three months of statements from every checking and savings account, including credit union accounts. If you’re self-employed, bring 12 months of statements instead.
All Bills & Debt Statements
Bring statements for every creditor: credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, furniture loans, and rent-to-own contracts. We need correspondence addresses and account numbers for each one. Student loan billing and payment records belong here too.
Asset Documentation
Bring vehicle titles or current loan statements, your most recent mortgage statement if you own a home, and statements for any retirement or investment accounts. If you own real estate other than your primary home, bring whatever documentation you have on it. These documents are how we map your assets against Georgia’s exemption schedule to advise what you can protect.
Monthly Household Expenses
You don’t need a formal document here, but come ready to walk through your regular monthly costs: rent or mortgage, utilities, transportation, groceries, insurance, medical expenses, childcare, and any other recurring obligations. This information is required for the means test and for assessing whether a Chapter 13 plan is financially workable for you.
Title Loans or Title Pawns
Bring contact information for any title loan or title pawn companies. These creditors hold your vehicle title as collateral, which affects how we approach those debts.
Active Legal & Urgent Documents
Bring anything related to active lawsuits, wage garnishment, foreclosure notices, or repossession notices. These time-sensitive situations may affect how quickly we need to act. An automatic stay (a court order that immediately halts most collection actions, including foreclosures and garnishments) goes into effect the moment a bankruptcy petition is filed.
Co-Signers
If anyone has co-signed a loan for you, or if you’ve co-signed for someone else, bring the names and addresses of those individuals. Co-signers are affected by a bankruptcy filing, and your attorney needs to know about these relationships from the start.
Child Support
If you pay child support, bring the names and addresses of all recipients. Child support obligations are treated differently than other debts in bankruptcy and can’t be discharged.
What to Tell Your Attorney Even Without a Document
Some information matters even when there’s no paper trail to hand over. Your attorney needs to know about anything that could affect your case, and some of these situations are ones filers don’t always think to mention.
The bankruptcy trustee has authority to investigate financial transactions going back before you file. The look-back period varies by transfer type. Payments to insiders like family members generally fall within a one-year window, while fraudulent transfers can be scrutinized further back under federal and Georgia law. Transfers of property or money to family members during these periods can be reversed, creating serious complications. If you’ve repaid a loan from a relative or transferred property to someone before filing, tell your attorney before the petition goes in.
New credit card charges made shortly before filing can also create problems. Luxury purchases over a certain dollar threshold within 90 days of filing may be treated as non-dischargeable, and cash advances taken close to a filing date can raise fraud concerns with the trustee. If either situation applies to you, disclose it. Surprises after filing are far harder to manage than disclosures made upfront.
You should also mention any pending lawsuits in which you’re the plaintiff, any expected inheritances, or any other claims you may have against someone else. Even if no money has changed hands, these can constitute assets that must be listed in the bankruptcy petition.
What Happens at Your Consultation
The initial consultation is a conversation, not a commitment. Our attorneys use the time to understand your income, debts, assets, and goals well enough to explain your options clearly, including whether bankruptcy is the right path or whether another debt relief approach makes more sense. It helps to come in with a clear sense of what you’re trying to accomplish: stopping a foreclosure, protecting your vehicle, eliminating unmanageable medical debt. That answer shapes which chapter, if any, makes sense. Chapter 7 can eliminate most unsecured debts relatively quickly. Chapter 13 creates a structured repayment plan that can stop a foreclosure and catch up on missed mortgage payments over time.
Cases filed in Savannah are heard in the Southern District of Georgia, with the bankruptcy court located at 124 Barnard St., 2nd Floor, Savannah, GA 31401. Our attorneys know this court and its local rules well, which matters in practical terms when your case is moving through the system.
We offer consultations at our Savannah office at 6555 Abercorn St., STE 105, and our Pooler office at 130 Canal St., #602. Virtual consultations are available as well. Preparing before you come in isn’t about making a perfect impression. It’s about making the most of the time you have with your attorney so you leave with a clear picture of your options and a real sense of what comes next. When you’re ready to take that step, Barbara B. Braziel Attorney At Law is here at (833) 522-1069.