He also holds meetings which are attended by debtor filing for bankruptcy and his creditors. This is probably hardest part of whole proceedure for most people.

The trustee will question debtor about his financial affairs and go over his financial records to determine that all assets have been disclosed and that no fraud is being perpetrated on court.

Attorneys for creditors are also allowed to ask questions about your expenses and assets.

The trustee will also instruct you on other alternatives and lecture you on proper use of credit.

He will then issue a report bankruptcy judge will use in deciding whether to dicharge your debts and which debts are to be included.

A debtor is unlikely to ever meet judge. In a Chapter 7 case, debtor will not appear in court unless an objection is made. In a Chapter 13 case, debtor might have to appear at a hearing approving his repayment plan.

Most of work will be done in trustee’s office.

What Debt Can Be Discharged?

Not all debt can be discharged by a bankruptcy court.

A bankrupcy court cannot discharge debts arising from alimony, child maintenance and support obligations; certain taxes (including last three years income taxes); debts for educational benefit overpayments or federal student loans; debts for willful and malicious injury; debts for death or personal injury caused by driving while intoxicated from alcohol or other substances; and debts from criminal restitution orders.

To extent that these types of debts are not fully paid by sale of assets during during a Chapter Seven case or not fully repaid during a Chapter Thirteen case, debtor is still responsible for them after bankruptcy case has been concluded.

Other debts may or may not be discharged. Debts for money or property obtained by false pretenses, through fraud, embezzlement or misuse of funds while acting as a fiduciary; debts for willful and malicious injury to another entity or to property of another entity; and debts arising from a property settlement agreement incurred in connection wth a divorce or separation are discharged, unless a creditor convinces court to have such debts declared exempt from discharge.

If you can't get at least half of your debts discharged, it's not worth effort.

For some industries, SBA lender may look at your company's average revenue. For example, if you run a wholesale or retail business, your average annual sales for past three years cannot exceed $6 million to $29 million, depending on type of business you own. Construction companies need to fall into $12 million to $28.5 million range. Basically, if you make too much, you're considered too 'big' to need an SBA loan. It's also very important that you're running an independently owned for-profit organization if you are considering SBA loans.

If you still qualify keep reading.

When beginning SBA loan application process, your lender will require you to have some specific information ready. The first document you'll need is your business profile; this simply describes type of business you run, your annual sales revenue, number of people you currently employ, and how long you've been in business. You will also need to provide a loan request. This is a description of how money you need and how you plan to spend it. As with any loan, you will need to provide collateral. Be prepared to explain how you plan to secure loan.

The most important information you will need to provide is business's financial statements for past three years. These include: balance statement, income statement, and statement of cash flows. As owner of business, you will need to provide not only your personal financial statements, but also financial statements of any other individuals that hold 20% or more equity in company. Most lenders will also ask for personal tax returns for last three years.

In next portion of this article, 'SBA Loans: Options, Benefits, and Lenders', we will further examine what kinds of loan options are available, and for what kinds of businesses they are most advantageous. Lastly, we will discuss different types of SBA lenders.