I am filing Chapter 7 and I have a hearing scheduled at the end of August, about an hour and a half from where I live. This has been my experience so far:

I have a ton of debt from credit cards because two years ago I had just a whole bunch of bad things happen that cost me a lot of money. I met with a financial coach through my employee assistance program and I guess I didn't realize how bad it was until I just could not make the payments and even what I tried to negotiate with the credit card companies wasn't working. Anyway...

My coach talked to me about Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Chapter 7 wipes out all your debt and stays on your record for 10 years. Now the thing is, if you file Chapter 7, you can't file again for 8 years I believe. Chapter 13 means that you have a payment plan where you have to pay back your creditors within 5 years. I am not sure though because I am filing Chapter 7.

Anyway, the experience has not been easy. My financial coach gave me a referral to a law office and I got a free 30 minute consult and 25% off of the lawyer fees to file. I ended up paying $1300 over 5 installments because that's what I was able to afford. The law office sent me a checklist and a 30 page questionnaire to send back along with the items on the checklist. The questionnaire asks you to list your assets - things like your house or car if you have them, approximate values, household items and what you could get for them at a yard sale, creditors names, addresses and phone numbers and outstanding balances, any bank accounts, mutual funds, retirement accounts, etc. I also had to provide a copy of my Social Security card, a copy of my driver's license, the deed to my house, the title to my car, payoff quotes for my mortgage, 6 months worth of bank statements and pay stubs, statements for my retirement accounts...it was exhausting. If you think that giving your dad info on your finances is rough, this is not going to be any easier. They also want to know how much money that you bring in and what your monthly budget is.

I cannot stress the importance of getting a good lawyer enough. The law office that I was referred to went out of business and, oddly enough, are going bankrupt themselves. My case was shuffled off to another law office and I had to send all of my documents again. Then a third time when my case was sent to a local lawyer because my case "fell through the cracks." Then, when they have enough info, including the completion certificate for your credit counseling class, then they file the petition. I don't know what was up with this paralegal at the law office, but I had to send back the petition numerous times to be corrected. She had me taking in $800 a month and spending $2600 per month, then in another section of the petition forgot one of my 401k accounts, and then took six months of pay and entered it like that six month amount was my monthly pay. What a mess.

Once your petition is filed, you are scheduled for something called a 341 hearing. I haven't had mine yet, but I understand it takes about 5-10 minutes and they ask you a few questions and then you are done. Your creditors would be invited to attend, but from what I understand, they almost never do.

I don't mean any of this to scare you, but it can be very tedious, depressing, and frustrating. $9000 isn't all that much, all things considered. Depending on what kind of debt you have, you can make some sort of payment arrangement. If it's medical, send them $25-$50/month. You can also try to call credit card companies and get a debt settlement where you pay a fraction of your debt over 3-5 years. And, if your father is truly willing to help, that's another option that you have. Exhaust them all before you file.

Hope this helps.