Service of Process to Bankruptcy Creditors
If I file Bankruptcy, Will I Need to Provide Service of Process to All My Creditors?
If you file for bankruptcy, all of your creditors will receive appropriate service of process automatically through the Federal Court’s noticing system. Usually, you or your attorney will not need to directly notice your creditors. Initial “service of process” occurs automatically when the federal court sends out the bankruptcy notice to each of your creditors.
What is Service of Process?
Service of Process is simply giving correct legal notice to another party that you have initiated a lawsuit or other legal proceeding. The party in which you “serve” notice is usually a defendant or somebody else who has a stake in the case at hand. Essentially, all appropriate parties must receive service of process in some legally-appointed fashion.
Proper legal service can occur in many ways. It all depends on the type of law case being initiated. Most forms of legal service do not occur “automatically” such as in Federal Bankruptcy Court’s noticing of the creditors. In many non-bankruptcy cases, notice is frequently required either through signed certified mail or delivery by the county sheriff’s office. Because of varying service requirements, refer to your attorney and your court’s local rules to see how service is appropriately made in any specific filing.
Service of process can also occur through a process server. Process server companies will track down a defendant and personally deliver appropriate service. This type of service has huge advantages for at least two important reasons. First, the process server will many times be able to track down hard-to-find defendants on a case. Second, the process server will have proof that the party received actual, personal notice. It creates a situation where undeniable service took place with the opposing party. The other party will be forced to attend hearings or other matters on the case. If they do not attend, they will be held in contempt of court. The party will not be able to argue that there was no appropriate legal notice.
For more information on Service of Process, visit Hoosier Process Servers.
How does Initial Service of Process (Notice) Occur on a Bankruptcy Case?
In a bankruptcy, a creditor list is required to be provided to the court in the bankruptcy petition. In addition, at text file of all the creditor’s addresses (and other relevant parties) must also be provided. By using this text file, the court’s noticing system will generate and mail out the bankruptcy notice to each creditor in the case. This is part of the reason why the $335 and $310 filing fees are required on Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases respectively. Part of these fees go to the cost of providing mailed notice to the creditors in each case.
