As a bankruptcy attorney I feel like I am always chasing down documents. There are a number of documents that need to be gathered and filed as part of your bankruptcy whether it is chapter 7 or chapter 13. Most documents that are needed to be filed with a bankruptcy, like taxes and pay stubs, are given to me in paper form.
When I get these documents from my clients I have to scan them to my computer and make sure they are in PDF format because everything that is filed now, whether it is with the federal bankruptcy court or the trustee’s office (in Utah at least) is filed electronically.
Often times clients know that they have filed their taxes but they just can’t remember where they put them or they have lost their taxes. I have good news for all my clients and for everyone filing for bankruptcy and for their attorneys. The IRS has a service called “Get Transcript” that allows you to download your IRS transcripts directly to your computer! This means that if you have a computer, or even probably a smartphone, you can log onto this website, download your IRS transcripts, and forward your transcripts on to your attorney without using a single piece of paper. And the best part about it is that it’s absolutely free.
Links:
“Get Transcript”, download your tax transcripts from the IRS
Sean Wood 