MOST IMPORTANTLY, YOU MUST ALWAYS BE TOTALLY HONEST WITH YOUR ATTORNEY, THE TRUSTEE, AND THE COURT. FURTHER, DO NOT WITHHOLD ANY REQUIRED INFORMATION. When you sign the bankruptcy petition, you are swearing under oath that the answers to the questions in the petition are true and complete. Failure to answer questions truthfully is perjury. Perjury in a federal court matter is a very serious offense. You must also be totally forthcoming with your attorney. If you think not disclosing certain information to your attorney will be to your advantage, doing so will be to your great disadvantage when the information comes out later, which it often does. Tell your attorney everything, so a plan can be developed for dealing with the issue presented.
Your attorney will be requiring you to provide a number of records relating to your personal finances. These records will be needed so the petition, which normally exceeds forty pages, can be prepared properly. At this time you should keep any paycheck stubs and bank statements you receive, so you do not need to retrieve copies later. Also keep copies of any statements you receive from creditors, and letters from collection agencies and attorneys representing creditors. The attorney you consult will let you know what other documents will be needed.
If your next income tax return is not yet due, hold off on filing it until you consult an attorney, in particular if you will be receiving a large refund. Some planning may need to be done so you can use the refund moneys for your benefit, and not lose it to the Trustee.
Do not incur any new debts at this time. If a creditor can convince the Court that you incurred new debt with the intention of then discharging the new debt, that debt will not be discharged, and you will still owe it. This includes credit cards. (Debit cards are permissible to use, provided you have funds in the bank to cover the purchases.)
Do not transfer property out of your name to someone else. For any transfer that happened within four years before you filed bankruptcy where you did not receive equivalent value, the Trustee can sue that person and recovery the property, for the purpose of selling it for funds to pay to your creditors.
