A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is the tpe of case in which the debtor is seeking to get the debtors discharged.

A Bankruptcy Petition is drafted and filed with the court.

The process of bankruptcy begins with the filing of a petition with the bankruptcy court. The petition must include the names and addresss of all of the creditors, a statement of the debtor's income and expenses and other finanical information. Once a petition if received by the court, the clerk of the court will mail a notice of a bankruptcy hearing to the debtor, the debtor's attorney and all creditors.

Many hearings are scheduled several weeks after the bankkruptcy petition is filed with the court. The court appoints a person called a trustee, who oversees the hearing and asks questions to the debtor about the finanical situation and the factors that caused the debtor not be be able to pay the bills.

Creditors have the right to appear at the hearing and can also ask questions to the debtor. Creditors also have the right to object to the bankruptcy. If no objections are made, the debtor can expect to receive a discharge after the expiration of sixty days from the hearing. The order of discharge is mailed by the clerk of the bankruptcy court.

Dissent - Verb To disagree. Noun An appellate court opinion setting forth the minority view and outlining the disagreement of one or more judges with the decision of the majority.

Diversion - The process of removing some minor offenses from the full judicial process, on the condition that the accused undergo some sort of rehabilitation or make restitution for damages. <

Equity - Generally, justice or fairness. Historically, equity refers to a separate body of law developed in England in reaction to the inability of the common-law courts, in their strict adherence to rigid writs and forms of action, to consider or provide a remedy for every injury. The king therefore established the court of chancery to do justice between parties in cases where the common law would give inadequate redress. The principle of this system of law is that equity will find a way to achieve a lawful result when legal procedure is inadequate. Remedies such as restraining orders and injunctions are equitable remedies. Equity and law courts are now merged in most states.

Entry of Judgment or Order - The filing of a signed, written, and dated judgment or order.

Equal Protection of the Law - The guarantee in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution Article III, that the law treat all persons equally. Court decisions have established that this guarantee requires that courts be open to all persons on the same conditions, with like rules of evidence and modes of procedure; that persons be subject to no restrictions in the enjoyment of liberty, the acquisition of property, and the pursuit of happiness, which do not generally affect others; that persons are liable to no other or greater burdens than those are laid upon others; and that no different or greater punishment is enforced against them for a violation of the laws.

Stay - Court order temporarily halting a judicial proceeding.

Survivorship - Another name for joint tenancy, a form of title in which one owner becomes entitled to property because he or she has survived all other owners.