Q: I've been informed by an email that I was named as a creditor in a bankruptcy case over a month ago but still have not g

A: Why would you receive any legal documents? What kind of bankruptcy was filed? It makes a difference.

First, does the debtor owe you money? Have you sued and recovered a judgment against the debtor prior to filing bankruptcy? Or did you have security interest in anything, like a lien on a car? Who is the debtor? A business or a person? What kind of bankruptcy did the debtor file - a chapter 7 or chapter 13 (if a person)? Or chapter 7 or chapter 11 is a business?

Does the debtor have any assets that will be part of the bankruptcy estate over and above what can be exempted?

The answer to the last question will indicate whether you will get paid or not.

If the debtor is a person and is filing a chapter bankruptcy, then there is a good chance that this is a no-asset case, meaning that whatever the debtor owns is exempt under the bankruptcy law and they get to keep it, and there are no assets for the creditors. If that is the case, you would not file a proof of claim unless notified to do so by the trustee.

If this is a chapter 13 case, then you would file a proof of claim. Depending on the category of your claim, you would get paid something.

If the debtor is a corporation/business if it has assets, you probably would file a proof of claim as well.

What you need to do is contact the bankruptcy court and see if you can get information about the case or find a lawyer who has access to PACER who can look up the information for you.

You were notified by the court because the debtor listed you as a creditor but I am willing to bet that this is an individual debtor who filed a chapter 7 so that is why no proof of claim was sent to you. If that is indeed the case, I would not plan on getting paid.

A: You can register at www.pacer.gov for an ID that will enable you to get online access to this case. You can pull up the Debtor's Voluntary Petition and Matrix to see if you are actually named as a creditor. The Notice of Meeting of Creditors (if this is a Ch 7 or Ch 13 filing by the Debtor) will include a Certificate of Notice which lists all of the creditors in the case with an assigned serial number for each creditor. Check the actual public filing via PACER. Do not rely on a simple email. Unless you registered with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for specific electronic notice, you have to be served with the Notice of Meeting of Creditors (which contains deadlines to file an Objection to the Debtor's Discharge of your claim) by U.S. Mail.