What is the judge going to ask me?
In a typical bankruptcy case, you are never going to see a judge. In a chapter 7, you’re going to see a bankruptcy trustee. The trustee is a person appointed by the bankruptcy court to administer your case. The trustee wants to make sure that you are listing all your assets and all your liabilities and you are answering truthful questions to the statement of financial affairs. The trustee’s job is to see if there are any nonexempt assets that can be taken, sold and administered for the benefit of your creditors.
The only time that you would see a judge is typically if there’s going to be a hearing with regard to whether or not the debt that you reaffirm on, which means the debt that you keep, is going to cause you an undue hardship. In some cases, judges want to make sure that reaffirmed debts, particularly on vehicles, can be afforded. If the Schedules I and J show that you as the debtor have a negative disposable income per month, then it is certainly within the court’s discretion to hold a reaffirmation hearing to determine whether or not you have the ability to make that payment going forward. This is part of the consumer protection portion of the bankruptcy code. If the judge feels that you do not have the ability to make the payment going forward, he can disregard or disallow the executed reaffirmation agreement between you and your creditor.
That is the only time you would typically see a judge in a chapter 7 bankruptcy case. The exception to this would be if there is an adversary case filed in your bankruptcy. An adversary case is a separate lawsuit within the bankruptcy court claiming that a debt that you owe is nondischargeable. The court would have to make a determination after a hearing or trial based on the evidence in the case and whether or not you are entitled to a discharge of that debt. Other than that, you would typically not see a judge in a chapter 7 bankruptcy case.