Many times, people file for bankruptcy to avoid extreme financial issues, like excessive debt. However, many people are clueless regarding the procedure as well as the location of bankruptcy courts. If you are a resident of Los Angeles and are considering filing for bankruptcy but don’t have any idea where a court hearing or meeting of creditors will take place, you are in luck. Bankruptcy cases in Los Angeles are filed with U.S. bankruptcy court for the central district of California. The L.A. division takes care of entire Los Angeles County while other districts have separate courthouses. To find out where you need to go for your bankruptcy hearing, you can enter your ZIP code and find out your courthouse.
Proceedings in a bankruptcy court
Consumers can file for bankruptcy under chapter 7 or chapter 13. Bankruptcy proceedings, also known as a 341 (a) meeting, involves creditors and bankruptcy trustee, who oversees your bankruptcy estate to find out what property can be distributed to the creditors. This meeting takes place 6 weeks after filing for bankruptcy. You are required to submit your tax returns from the most recent years, at the meeting.
Filing for bankruptcy means you need to attend a creditors’ meeting in 30 days after filing your case. Generally, the meeting is simple, if all your papers are in order. The meeting is presided by your bank trustee, and often, unless there is an objection to any exemption, your case is set for a hearing before the judge. Many times, bankruptcy filers do not have to enter a courthouse, except for the creditors’meeting. It is important to note that during a courthouse visit, you should have proper identification papers. The courts function between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. all through the week (Monday to Friday) except on federal holidays.
The bankruptcy lawyers of Los Angeles based firm Recovery Law Group suggest that having an experienced attorney by your side can definitely ease the burden of bankruptcy. They ensure that all your papers are in order so that you get a discharge (in the case of Chapter 7) or a repayment plan approved (Chapter 13) without any delay. Since the Central District of California is a part of the Ninth Circuit, which hears more cases compared to other federal circuits, it makes sense to hire lawyers to handle the legal work. In case you haven’t hired a bankruptcy lawyer for your case, you can call 888-297-6023 to discuss your case with bankruptcy lawyers.
Los Angeles metro region courthouses
There are 5 division courthouses in the Los Angeles metro region. Here are all the details about them, including how to reach there:
- Los Angeles Division Courthouse serves the most of L.A. County and is located at Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and Courthouse, 255 E. Temple St., Room 940, Los Angeles, CA 90012. There is no public parking available at the courthouse but local parking near City of Los Angeles Public Parking Lot 2 (330 E. Temple St.), Also Parking Garage (101 N. Judge John Aiso St.) and Los Angeles Mall Public Parking (225 N. Los Angeles St.) is available. 341(a) meetings are generally held in Suite 1050 (10th floor) at 915 Wilshire Blvd. which is merely 10 minutes’ drive from the courthouse.
- Riverside Division Courthouse located at 3420 12th Riverside, CA 92501, serves Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Local parking is available at 12th Street Parking Structure (3535 12th St.), Riverside County Administrative Center (4090 Lemon St.), apart from metered parking near the courthouse. The 341(a) meetings are located at 3801 University Ave. which is half-mile away from the courthouse. Chapter 7 and 13 meetings take place on the 1st floor while that for Chapter 11 take place on the 7th floor.
- Santa Ana Division Courthouse serves the Orange County. It is located at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 411 W. Fourth St., Santa Ana, CA 92701. People can use public parking available at Third and Birch streets, Third Street and Broadway, and Fifth and Main streets; and metered parking available at Third, Fourth and Birch streets. The 341(a) meetings take place in the courthouse; Chapter 7 on the 3rd floor and Chapter 11 and 13 on the 1st
- San Fernando Valley Division Courthouse is located at 21041 Burbank Blvd., Woodland Hills, CA 91367 and serves portions of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Free parking is available on site. All 341(a) meetings for different bankruptcy chapters take place at the 1st floor of the courthouse.
- Northern Division Courthouse serves San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties and portion of Ventura County. It is located at 1415 State St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101, where free parking is available on site. All 341(a) meetings take place on the 1st floor at 128 E. Carrillo St. (nearly half-mile away).