The initial meeting with your attorney
At your meeting with your attorney, plan on disclosing all of your assets and liabilities in detail. Be as forthcoming as possible when listing all of your property and all of your debt.
This disclosure is extremely important for several reasons. First, by accurately disclosing all of your assets, the attorney will be able to determine if Chapter 7 is appropriate or a Chapter 13 is more appropriate. Second, by accurately disclosing all of your debts, the attorney can determine which debts can be eliminated, which debts cannot be eliminated and which debts may be an issue as to whether they can be eliminated or not. Third, it is a crime not to disclose all of your assets. You do not want to lose your right to declare bankruptcy and be subject to prosecution for bankruptcy crimes.
You may not think that your family land totaling 150 acres in Montana and owned by eight people is an asset, however, it may in fact be one. By properly disclosing everything to your attorney, you will get a true picture of what you can keep and not keep through a bankruptcy case. If you fail to list a creditor, that creditor may still be able to collect on the debt after your bankruptcy is over.