A bankruptcy consult can go two ways. In one, the attorney spends 40 minutes asking about credit cards, car loans and medical bills one at a time. In the other, the debt picture is already on the screen and the conversation goes straight to options.
The difference is almost always intake. This post covers what to collect on the phone, what to ask for by text after the call and where the line is on sensitive information.
Split the work between the call and the text
Callers can't list every debt from memory, and they shouldn't have to. Trying to get exact balances on the first call makes it long and frustrating, and you'll still get a lot of guesses.
So split it up:
- On the call: the overall picture. Types of debt, rough totals, what's behind, what's urgent.
- By text after the call: a document list so the caller can gather the details before the consult.
The call gets you enough to book and prepare. The text gets you the paper.
What to ask on the call
Keep it conversational. Most bankruptcy callers are embarrassed about their debt, and a rapid-fire list feels like an interrogation. Start broad.
"Can you walk me through the main debts you're dealing with? Rough numbers are fine."
Then fill in the gaps with prompts:
- Credit cards. "About how many cards, and roughly what's the total?"
- Medical bills. "Any medical bills or collections from medical debt?"
- Car loans. "Do you have a car loan? Are you current on it?"
- Mortgage or rent. "Do you own or rent? Are you behind at all?"
- Personal or payday loans. "Any personal loans, payday loans or loans from an app?"
- Student loans. "Any student loans?"
- Taxes. "Do you owe any back taxes to the IRS or the state?"
- Support. "Are you behind on child support or alimony?"
- Judgments. "Has anyone sued you or gotten a judgment against you?"
Don't comment on any of these. Avoid "Oh, those can't be wiped out" or "That one's easy." What happens to each type of debt is the attorney's conversation.
Ask what's urgent, every time
Before the call ends, ask one question directly.
"Is anything happening right now? Like money being taken from your paycheck, a lawsuit, a foreclosure date, a car about to be repossessed or a bank account frozen?"
If the answer is yes, get the dates and follow your escalation rules. We cover that in detail in urgent calls involving wage garnishment and creditor harassment.
Record debts in a simple table
Notes like "lots of credit cards, some medical, behind on car" don't help much. A short table does.
| Type | Creditor (if known) | Rough amount | Current or behind | Notes | |---|---|---|---|---| | Credit cards | 4 cards | Example: $12,000 total | Behind | Calls daily | | Medical | Hospital | Example: $3,500 | In collections | | | Car loan | Lender | Example: $9,000 left | 2 months behind | Wants to keep car |
The amounts above are just examples of the format. Rough figures from the caller are fine. The attorney will get exact numbers from documents.
Send the document list by text
Right after the call, send a text with what to gather. Reading a list over the phone doesn't work. People don't remember it, and they don't have a pen.
Keep the first text short, then follow with the list.
"Hi Darnell, it's Kim from [Firm Name]. You're booked with the attorney on Thursday at 2. Here's a short list of what to bring or send if you have it. Don't worry if you can't find everything."
Then the list:
- Pay stubs for the last six months (yours and your spouse's if married).
- Your last two years of tax returns.
- Recent bank statements.
- Any letters from creditors or collection agencies.
- Any court papers, like a lawsuit or garnishment notice.
- Statements for your car loan, mortgage or lease.
- A copy of your credit report if you have one.
Your attorneys may want more or less than this. Agree on the list once and use it every time. For the income piece in particular, see means-test screening at intake.
What never goes in a text
SMS is convenient, and callers will try to send you everything that way. Set clear limits for both sides.
Never ask for, and discourage callers from sending, these by text:
- Social Security numbers.
- Full bank account or credit card numbers.
- Login details for any account.
- Full tax returns or bank statements as photos.
Text messages aren't the right place for that kind of information. Point callers to your firm's secure upload method instead, and say so plainly.
"Please don't text us account numbers or your Social Security number. I'll send you a secure link to upload documents, or you can bring them to the consult."
A photo of a collection letter or a court notice is usually fine to text, and it can help the attorney prepare. Agree on a clear rule with your attorneys about what's acceptable and train everyone on it.
Follow up on the documents
Most people mean to gather their paperwork and don't. A couple of reminders help.
- Two days before the consult: "Just a reminder to bring what you can from the list. Even a few pay stubs helps."
- The morning of: include the list again in the reminder.
If they show up with nothing, the consult still happens. But a nudge or two usually gets at least the court papers and the pay stubs in the door, and that changes the conversation.
Keep it humane
Debt is personal. People apologize for the size of it, explain how it happened and sometimes cry. Intake doesn't need to fix that, but it shouldn't make it worse.
"You're not the first person to call us about this, and you won't be the last. You're doing the right thing by looking into it."
That line costs nothing and keeps people on the phone. For more on keeping calls short and useful at volume, see managing high-volume ad-driven bankruptcy leads.
Where IntakeGenius fits
The IntakeGenius AI voice agent runs the debt questions on every bankruptcy call, asks about urgent issues before hanging up and books the consult. IntakeCRM has SMS built in, so your team can send the document list right after the call from the same place the lead lives, and the consult reminders go out on their own. We configure the questions and messages with you.
Want to see the call-to-text handoff in action? A 15-minute demo will show it. No slides. More on our bankruptcy setup.