Jeff Mathias Law Office
4800 Mills Civic Parkway, Ste. 214, West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
Tel: 515-261-7526 Toll Free: 1-800-997-1395

Eligibility for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Iowa
Check your family income against the chart below. If you are below the median income you have a much better chance of a successful complete discharge through Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Some debtors over the median income will not be eligible for Chapter 7, but may want to consider Chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment. Jeff will not accept your fees or your case if he does not believe your case will succeed. 

Iowa Annual Median Income
1 Person $37,759
2 People $50,581
3 People $59,331
4 People $69,723
5 People $76,623
*Exclude Social Security Income
(add $6300 for each additional household member)
Updated 02/01/2008

Pre-Filing Credit Counseling
You can do your required credit counseling class online for about $50 before coming to the office. You can email your certificate or bring it with you. www.cccsinc.org seems to be pretty good for this. Joint couples require two certificates.  For help with getting your pre-filing certificate, you can also call CCCS at 1-866-672-2227.

Office Appointment
You will bring your fees ($1,199 total) and the documents listed below to Jeff's Des Moines office. Jeff will go through your case in detail before accepting your fees. If you are not eligible, Jeff will not accept your fees and you pay nothing. If you are eligible, Jeff will do your entire petition during this first appointment. That way we can file your case quickly and you are not sitting at home filling out a long, confusing packet. We don't use packets.  All appointments are at 4800 Mills Civic Parkway, Suite 214, West Des Moines, IA 50265.

What to bring to the office appointment:
-$1,199 in cash or money order ($900 attorney fee and $299 filing fee)
*See below for how to save $150 on your attorney fee with MyCaseInfo.
-Credit Counseling Certificate (you can get this online at www.cccsinc.org)
-All bills you intend to discharge (credit cards, medical etc.) w/ account numbers, full address
-Creditor information (full address, account #'s) on debts you will keep like home or car loans
-Last two months pay stubs from work (including your spouse even if they are not filing)
-If you do not receive wage income, bring records of other income for the last six months
-Most recent state and federal tax returns
-W2's for the last two years
-Legal Description of your Iowa home if you own from your abstract or tax bill
-Proof of valuation of your Iowa home such as tax or other appraisal if you have them
-Photo ID and Social Security Card or proof of social security number

Hearing
Jeff will attend your bankruptcy hearing with you. There is no Judge or courtroom, just a trustee who will ask if you listed all your bills, all your assets, whether you had more than $1,000 ($2,000 joint Iowa bankruptcy filing) in your bank accounts on the day of filing and so forth. Jeff will assist you if creditors appear or the trustee is concerned about any issues on your bankruptcy.   Hearings are held at the Federal Building at 2nd & Walnut in Des Moines.

Discharge
About 9 weeks after your hearing you will receive your Iowa bankruptcy discharge order in the mail meaning you are no longer responsible for the debt. If you continue to receive bills from any of your discharged creditors you can just send them to us and we will take care of them.

Credit After Bankruptcy
It takes about two years to get a good interest rate on a home after bankruptcy, but many of my clients are offered credit cards right after bankruptcy.  Since you cannot file chapter 7 again for at least 8 years banks are often anxious to get you back as a customer.  I encourage you to use your debit card and avoid credit cards if you can.  See Smart Money article, Debt after Bankruptcy.

Iowa Bankruptcy Fees 
Save $150 on your Attorney Fee:
With MyCaseInfoyou can enter your bills and other information on your computer at home. When you come to our office we will import your information directly into Jeff's computer. This also reduces the time you spend in the office and results in higher quality petitions. Click here if you would like to get started and Jeff will send you an invite. You are under no obligation. You can start on MyCaseInfo anytime and work on it as time allows. You do not pay us anything unless you choose to go forward when we meet. If you do go forward your attorney fee will be $750 instead of $900.

Attorney Fee with MyCaseInfo: $750
Filing Fee: $299
Total Attorney and Filing Fees with MyCaseInfo: $1,049

Attorney Fee without MyCaseInfo: $900
Filing Fee: $299
Total Attorney and Filing Fees without MyCaseInfo: $1,199

Counties Served
Jeff Mathias is a Des Moines Iowa Bankruptcy Attorney serving Adair, Adams, Appanoose, Audubon, Boone, Cass (Atlantic), Clarke (Osceola), Clinton (Clinton), Dallas, Davis, Decatur, Des Moines (Burlington), Fremont, Greene, Guthrie, Harrison, Henry (Mount Pleasant), Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson (Iowa City), Keokuk, Lee, Louisa, Lucas, Madison, Mahaska (Oskaloosa), Marion (Knoxville), Marshall, Mills, Monroe, Montgomery, Muscatine (Muscatine), Page, Polk (Des Moines area), Pottawattanie (Council Bluffs), Poweshiek, Ringgold, Scott (Davenport)(Bettendorf), Shelby, Story (Ames area), Taylor, Union, Van Buren, Wapello (Ottumwa), Warren (Indianola), Washington, and Wayne counties.  We serve each of these counties from our Des Moines office located at 4800 Mills Civic Parkway, Ste. 214, West Des Moines, Iowa, 50265.  If you live in one of these counties, call Jeff toll free at 1-800-997-1395, local at 515-261-7526 or email Iowa bankruptcy attorney Jeff Mathias for some quick feedback. Jeff can often answer email after business hours.
Jeff Mathias
Bankruptcy Attorney
4800 Mills Civic Parkway Suite 214 West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
Tel. 515-261-7526
Toll Free: 1-800-997-1395
See www.mathiaslaw.com for more detailed Iowa bankruptcy information.

Top 10 Client Questions

How much does it cost?
If you complete MyCaseInfo data entry before coming to the office the attorney fee is $750 and the filing fee is $299.  If we do all the data entry at the office the attorney fee is $900.  Pre and post filing certificates are $50.
How long does it take?
The office appointment averages 1-2 hours depending on whether you did MyCaseInfo and how organized you are.  I file each week, normally on Thursday.  Your hearing is about 30 days later.  You are discharged about 9 weeks after the hearing.  So the whole Iowa bankruptcy process takes about 3 1/2 months.  But once your case is filed creditors have to stop collection efforts including calls, bills, garnishments and lawsuits.
Will I ever get credit again?
It takes about two years of good credit post-bankruptcy to get a good rate on a home loan.  Banks know you cannot file chapter 7 bankruptcy again for 8 years so many of my clients receive offers of credit as soon as they are discharged.  I encourage you to use a debit card instead.  Life without credit card bills is great!  See Credit After Bankruptcy.
What debt is discharged?
Credit cards, medical and personal debt.  The most common non-dischargeables are back taxes, student loans and child support.
Can I keep my home & car(s)?
You can either keep your home and car(s) and keep making the regular payments or surrender them and be done with the debt, even if the lender re-sells them for less than what you owe.
What is the credit counseling about?
The credit counseling requirement is part of the 2005 changes to the bankruptcy law.  You take a class online at www.cccsinc.org and they email you a certificate to bring to my office.  If you are filing jointly you both need certificates.  Clients spend widely varying amounts of time on the class depending mostly on their internet skills.
What counties do you serve?
We are located in West Des Moines and serve Adair, Adams, Appanoose, Audubon, Boone, Cass, Clarke, Clinton, Dallas, Davis, Decatur, Des Moines, Fremont, Greene, Guthrie, Harrison, Henry, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Keokuk, Lee, Louisa, Lucas, Madison, Mahaska, Marion, Marshall, Mills, Monroe, Montgomery, Muscatine, Page, Polk (Des Moines area), Pottawattanie, Poweshiek, Ringgold, Scott, Shelby, Story, Taylor, Union, Van Buren, Wapello, Warren, Washington, and Wayne counties.  We serve all these counties from our Des Moines office at 4800 Mills Civic Parkway, Suite 214, West Des Moines, IA 50265.
What are the alternatives to bankruptcy?
Consumer Credit of Des Moines is able to help some clients with repayment plans if you have enough income.  Beware of distant debt settlement companies.  They tend to take your money, not settle anything and you end up with lawsuits, garnishments etc. after having made a good faith effort to settle. 
Can I keep one credit card if there is no balance?
The banks subscribe to reporting services that forward them lists daily of everyone who has filed bankruptcy.  Their databases close the debtors accounts even if they do not have a balance.  So unless there is an error in the system chances are all your accounts will close even if there is a zero balance and they are not listed on your petition.
How do I get started?
If you are below the median income chances are you will have no problem with a successful bankruptcy discharge under Chapter 7.  Once you are ready to go we can set an office appointment in our Des Moines office.   Email Jeff and tell us which day works for you and we can check times.  If you are not eligible or decide not to file at that time you pay nothing.  If you are eligible and want to go forward we finish your entire petition during that appointment so we can get your case filed quickly.
For more Iowa chapter 7 bankruptcy information see Jeff's DesMoineBankruptcy.com.  Jeff's Iowa Bankruptcy Guide discusses chapter 7 vs. chapter 13.  If you are dealing with an Iowa foreclosure, see Iowa Foreclosure Law.

Somerfield Village, 4800 Mills Civic Parkway, Ste. 214, West Des Moines, Iowa 50265, Building Lobby & Federal Building, 2nd & Walnut, Des Moines, Iowa.

Bankruptcy links- The United States Bankruptcy Court provides bankruptcy court links.  The bankruptcy court for the Southern District of Iowa and Northern District of Iowa bankruptcy court has bankruptcy statistical information for Iowa.  Cornell law school has an excellent bankruptcy law site.  NACBA is the primary personal bankruptcy attorney association.  Best Case is the top bankruptcy law software provider and supports the MyCaseInfo that we use.  Jeff's primary site is DesMoinesBankruptcy, IowaBankruptcyGuide is an online book about Iowa bankruptcy, IowaBankruptcy and IowaForeclosure focuses on Iowa foreclosure and bankruptcy. Good bankruptcy attorney sites- Mark Markus and Ted Machi have an excellent bankruptcy attorney and bankruptcy law sites.  The Iowa State Bar Association represents attorneys throughout Iowa.  The Iowa state law library is open to the public.  The University of Iowa has a top 20 law school.  BankruptcyAction is a good bankruptcy attorney directory.  MoranLaw is an excellent California bankruptcy law site.  Jonathan Alper has and excellent bankruptcy attorney site and David Fuchs covers bankruptcy law well in Florida.
Wikipedia has quite a bit on Chapter 7 Bankruptcy including the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. Title 11 of the United States Code, liquidation under bankruptcy laws of the United States and,bankruptcy in the United States. Chapter 7: basic liquidation for individuals and businesses, Chapter 11, rehabilitation or reorganization, used primarily by business debtors, but sometimes by individuals with substantial debts and assets, Chapter 12: rehabilitation for family farmers and fishermen and Chapter 13: rehabilitation with a payment plan for individuals with a regular source of income.

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Famous & Broke

Abraham Lincoln's Illinois general store failed. After winning a spot in the State Legislature, Abe noticed his horse and saddle were gone. They were repossessed by the Sheriff! Later, he confided to a friend that debt was his life's greatest obstacle. Honest Abe also practiced Bankruptcy Law in Illinois before moving on to hold the United States together as President during the Civil War.  Abe Lincoln Bankruptcy.
American Author Mark Twain spent nine years in Europe avoiding creditors of his defunct typewriter invention business. Twain returned to the United States in 1864 to file bankruptcy.  Mark Twain Bankruptcy.
Harry Truman opened a shop in Missouri after the First World War only to have it fail. He was humbled by having to move in with his mother-in-law. Truman settled his debt for pennies on the dollar when his bank went bankrupt! Later, he got a good job, in Washington, DC.   Harry Truman.
Read more Famous & Broke profiles.

But I feel “Guilty” about filing bankruptcy.
This is the most common misunderstanding about bankruptcy. Courts view bankruptcy as the Responsible Approach if you can no longer pay your debt. Too many people continue to acquire debt they know they will never repay. It is much better to recognize that you cannot repay your debt, “draw a line in the sand” and agree to be responsible for all future debt. Further, you must consider the future. High debt could keep you from affording a home for your family and helping fund college tuition for your kids. If you cannot fund your retirement you could become dependent on welfare. This is why courts want you to utilize your rights under our bankruptcy law if you need to. Use this as a real fresh start, adjust your spending and take control of your financial future. You can be financially happy after your bankruptcy if you are determined to. We look forward to helping you get a fresh start.

Des Moines Bankruptcy Office: 4800 Mills Civic Parkway, Suite 214, West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
We are a debt relief agency.  We help people file bankruptcy under the United States Code.  All Right Reserved, Jeff Mathias Law Office
4800 Mills Civic Parkway, Suite 205, West Des Moines, Iowa 2008. 
Tel: 515-261-7526
Toll Free: 1-800-997-1395