Debtor Education Service

[wonderingrov]

My attorney actually has a list of companies for the debtor education that they prefer for their clients to use - they list it on their website. For me, I went with Incharge ($30) for the pre-filing. They emailed both me and my attorney a copy of the certificate (I sent the certificate to my attorney anyway, and she confirmed she had already received it).

The 50-30-20 course is listed on my attorney's website as well - I think I'm going to go with that one once I have my filing number.

[nceguyfromne]

I used InCharge.org ($30) for my counseling requirement and DebtorWise.com ($15) for my debtor education requirement. As you may have guessed, I chose the cheapest options I could find for both. As long as they're on the DOJ's list of accepted agencies for your district, you're getting the same certificate that gets you the same discharge, so why spend upwards of $100 to use the companies your attorney will probably recommend?

I was actually quite happy with DebtorWise's course. It was entertaining and there was some truly useful and thought-provoking information in the course. Even better, I did not have to speak to someone on the phone after I completed the online portion, as was the case with InCharge, to get a lecture about my budget and pretend like I was fascinated by their course before they would send me my certificate.

[wonderingrov]

My attorney suggested one this morning that I went with for post-discharge. It is at www.123debtor.com. It is only $11.96. I'm actually going through it as I type this. I could have probably finished the whole thing online in 30 minutes, but they require 2 hours. I'm doing other things while 'taking the course' to kill time.

[nortrip]

Is this one any good?

I had my 341 meeting in May, and today I received my Official Form 23 informing me that I need to "File a Statement of Completion of Course in Personal Financial Management."

If I understand CFEFA correctly, I can do this online for only $15, including watching a 2.5 hour video of some sort. Here are the links:

https://www.cfefa.org/our_fees/

https://www.cfefa.org/financial_education/

Has anyone here used the CFEFA course before, and can you tell me the pros and cons? I would hate to pay the fee then find out I can't access the video online, or that it takes forever to get the certificate sent to me, etc.

Thanks.

[hhwwe2]

how bout free?

http://consumerbankruptcycounseling.info is FREE. just did it online.quick and simple and APPROVED

[401kloaner]

http://consumerbankruptcycounseling.info is FREE. just did it online.quick and simple and APPROVED

.....is Pre-Filing Credit Counseling... but hey free is good ... I originally went to a non profit Consumer Credit Counseling Service for a $25 fee Debt Management Plan (DMP) meeting. The counselor crunched my numbers and recommended that I file for bankruptcy. No DMP for me.

I was able to change my DMP meeting into Pre-Filing Credit Counseling for the low low fee of $75.

I completed post bankruptcy certificate at getbankruptcycertificate.com for $12.50. It is a pre-test, then 112 timed pages (45 seconds until you can go to the next page) and then a post test. I got my certificate via email within hours.

[hhwwe2]

yeah i realized what they were looking for after i posted. but it is still a good pre-class like ya said especially for free.It did take a few days to receive certificate via email but it was very easy.

[jcraneesq]

Credit Counseling Services

Full Disclosure: I am a consumer bankruptcy attorney. That being said, an attorney should not charge extra for a service that a third-party provides. Most attorneys are registered users. This is a fancy term that basically means the attorney has agreed to be responsible for the payment to the credit counseling service. In reality, the attorney gives the credit counseling service his or her credit card.

The benefit to this is that attorneys can download the credit counseling certificate the courts require to be filed. Individuals do not have to worry about forgetting the code to get the certificate or losing the certificate. An individual who forgets his code and/or the company he took the class with will have to take it all over again.

The cost of the Pre-filing credit counseling course is anywhere from $30-$50. I use www.hummingbird.org ($49) because I found out about them first and they have my credit card information (and I am not sending it to another company). Another company that I have heard recommended is www.mybknow.com and their cost is about $30., but I have never used them and cannot personally recommend.

[BankruptinNJ]

Should I take the post-filing course before or after my 341 meeting???

[jcraneesq]

Financial Management Class

Take it after the 341 hearing. The law states that you have to complete it within 45 days "after" the hearing.

[tay666]

Take it after the 341 hearing. The law states that you have to complete it within 45 days "after" the hearing.

Really.

My lawyer had strongly urged us to have it done before our 341.
And the Trustee even mentioned that it was good that that was completed and out of the way when we had the 341 last week.

[BankruptinNJ]

I've heard that people sometimes have it done before the 341 so I was wondering. Thanks!

Really.

My lawyer had strongly urged us to have it done before our 341.
And the Trustee even mentioned that it was good that that was completed and out of the way when we had the 341 last week.

[teek76]

My husband did the debtor's ed or financial management course thru CFEFA. Our attorney had the videos and the information sheet that DH had to fill out as he watched the video. It was brutally BORING and ridiculously corny..I think the cost was right at $50 which DH paid thru the attorney a long while back. The video is 2 1/2 hours long and you cannot rewind or fast forward the video. Each section of the video has a 'code' at the end of it, and you have to fill out 6 codes throughout the course of the video. If you miss a code, you cannot rewind..you have to start the video from the beginning. Needless to say, we were careful to get each code so that we did NOT have to sit through the video more than once. As far as timing of completion..I am a bit concerned and confused by that. My husband's 341 was July 16th and was set to be continued without date. His 60 days are up on the 14th (just 4 more days!) and he just complete the CFEFA course and turned the info sheet back into our attorney on Thursday of this week. Our attorney spoke with the attorney representing the trustee and she said that unless a creditor objects between now and the 14th, that she sees no reason to continue the 341 and will recommend to the trustee that it not be continued but satisfied. A.)I am hoping he makes it thru the next 4 days without objections from creditors being filed. B.) Thoughts on the timing of the completion of the course? Do you think it will interfere with discharge or delay discharge? C.)Our attorney has 2 business days to refile amended paperwork as he failed to include the matrix for schedule c when he recently filed my husband's amended schedules.. thoughts on this and how it might affect the discharge? I'm thinking as long as he files the matrix in the time frame given by the court that everything should be OK. ? and D.) what's the normal time frame between the 60 days and discharge or closing of a case? .......

[gman]

http://consumerbankruptcycounseling.info is FREE. just did it online.quick and simple and APPROVED

I just used this one.

The only downside is it takes 3-5 business days to get your certificate.

Other than that - it was a breeze - took me 20 mins and 'forced' me to be online for 45. Must be some law/regulation.

[free2breathe]

We went to AcademyofFinancialLiteracy.com for our pre-discharge debtor education. It was a total of a bit more than 2 hours each. The course is given by way of online book. The pages are on the screen for a minimum of 60 seconds for the first person (we did this joint, so when I completed mine it was 45 seconds per page), and there are 112 pages. The post-education test was 30 minutes for hubby and 25 minutes for me. This course was on the list of approved courses/educators for the state of Wyoming. The best part? It was $13.95 per couple. We received our certificates via email on Sunday morning after completion Saturday night.