Without discharge?

[justbroke]

You are welcome.

[justbroke]

Can you pull up. your case in PACER? Once you search for your case, at the top of the screen should be your name(s) and then something right below your name and case information that looks like below...

Debtor discharged: 07/30/2014
Date terminated: 07/30/2014

Let me know if you see two dates with one saying "discharged" and one saying "terminated".

[Isfpachristy]

This is all I see.

Chapter: 7 Asset: No Vol: v Honorable:
Date filed: 06/06/2022 Date of last filing: 09/23/2022
Date terminated: 09/12/2022
Debtor disposition: Discharge Withheld for Failure to Submit Cert of Instructional Course for Personal Financial Mgmt
Joint debtor disposition: Discharge Withheld for Failure to Submit Cert of Instructional Course for Personal Financial Mgmt.

Pending status: Awaiting Discharge, Case Closed Flags: ProBono, CREDS, FMDueD2, MEANSNO, 2002, CLOSED

and I’m not even understanding that because those certifications were issued to our lawyer, and it was his responsibility to make sure that the courts got them. And it’s saying they didn’t.

[justbroke]

Yes. Your case was not discharged.

The last one is called the Financial Management Course and is separate from the first class. The case shows that you did not file the financial management class to get the discharge.

• It looks like your case was Pro Se/Pro Bono and that's probably why the attorney hasn't responded.
• You need to either find that attorney or go back to the Pro Se/Pro Bono clinic.
• You may be able to re-open your case in order to file that Financial Management class certificate and the affidavit.
• You are technically at the mercy of all of your creditors at this point.
• The cost will be $260 to re-open the case.
• Hopefully you still have those certificates. (They should have been issued to you personally and copied to your attorney.)
• Hopefully the court is amendable to granting a Motion to Re-Open to File Certificate of Financial Management and for Entry of the Discharge.
• But you need someone to do that since it's a technical process and will likely require service on all the creditors, the trustee, and the UST.

I don't know if despritfreya has any other ideas, but you need to get this done as if you are out of time, which you may be.

[despritfreya]

No Certificate of Completion for the Financial Management (pre discharge/debtor education) class filed with the court means no Discharge. With few exceptions ALL individual debtors must take the second on-line class. You take one to file bk and you take a different one to get out of bk with a discharge.

OP will now have to contact the Clerk of the Court to find out the procedure to reopen the case for the purpose of filing the Financial Management certificates to obtain a discharge. Some jurisdictions waive the reopening fee while others do not. At the same time, if OP and spouse cannot find their Certificates (contact the course provider if you already took the second class but can't find them) or actually did not take the second class they need to deal with it now. Once they have the certificates get them filed.

As a side note, the Clerk of the Court sent OP and spouse a Notice of Deficiency more than once - probably at least 3 times. The Notice warned that the case would be closed without a discharge due to the failure to file the Certificates of Completion. This Notice is standard procedure for Clerks throughout the Country as too many debtors fail to take the 2nd class or get the Certificates filed. Upon receipt of at least one of those notices OP really needed to find out what was going on.

Des.

[Isfpachristy]

But we did take the course. It was filed late by the attorney.

[Isfpachristy]

And our case was not pro bono. We paid him $1900 we didn’t have to start the case. 😡

[Isfpachristy]

And all debts were discharged except that one credit card.

[Isfpachristy]

I just looked at the paperwork. The financial course was submitted on 9/23/22. After the decree was signed.

[despritfreya]

And all debts were discharged except that one credit card.

If you are referring to what your credit report states, you are looking at the wrong document. You do not have a discharge yet. As a result, none of your debt has been discharged. A credit report is not a legal document and has no legal consequence as it relates to whether or not a debt was discharged. The information on a credit report is only as good as the "flunky" who entered it.

I just looked at the paperwork. The financial course was submitted on 9/23/22. After the decree was signed.

The Certificates were filed after the case was closed. You still need to get the case reopened for the purpose of the entry of a discharge. If you cannot get your attorney to respond, you will need to file the request on your own.

As to the attorney, if you took the class in sufficient time to get the Certificates filed before closing AND the attorney was given the certificates, also in time to file them before the case was closed, the attorney should be handling this matter. This assumes the attorney did not withdraw from the representation sometime before you sent him/her the Certificates. It also assumes that the retainer agreement covers the filing of the Certificates (I see no reason why it wouldn't).


Des.

[Isfpachristy]

Thanks ! I’ll be calling another lawyer today, as my lawyer, who I paid screwed us, big time!

[despritfreya]

Thanks ! I’ll be calling another lawyer today, as my lawyer, who I paid screwed us, big time!

Keep us posted. You are entitled to a discharge and the fresh start that comes with it.

Des.