Email this page to a friendBankruptcy Forms explained
There are several forms that must be filed with the court to initiate a bankruptcy case. When you hire us to file your case, we’ll prepare the paperwork, but it can be helpful to understand what the documents are that you, as the debtor, are being asked to sign. It is also important to understand that you also are required to provide certain documentation as evidence to support the information included on the bankruptcy forms. Bankruptcy paperwork is subject to audit by the Department of Justice, so it is very important that all bankruptcy paperwork is accurate and the information provided can be supported by documentary evidence.
The first part of a bankruptcy case is the Voluntary Petition. This is the document that officially asks the court for protection under the bankruptcy code. It contains general information like your name, address, social security number, and identifies whether the filing is an individual case, a case for a married couple, or a business case. It also contains the information that proves to the court you meet the initial requirements for filing: you haven’t filed a bankruptcy too recently and you’ve completed your Credit Counseling Session. It also gives the court an estimate of whether there will be any assets or income available to pay off creditors.
In addition to the Voluntary Petition which is typically a 2-3 page document, there are supporting Schedules that also must be filed. The Schedules detail the debtor’s income (how much money you make), assets (what you own, like your house or car), liabilities (what you owe), and general financial information. Schedules A through J make up all of the schedules that accompany a petition. These are summarized in a Summary of Schedules. Each schedule covers a specific topic:
- Schedule A: List any real estate you own or are purchasing.
- Schedule B: List your personal property—all of your “stuff.” This includes cars, furniture, clothes, jewelry, bank accounts, retirement accounts, etc. The court literally wants to know everything you own and how much it is worth. (We’ll help you simplify this process.)
- Schedule C: List which property you want to “exempt” from the bankruptcy. There are statutory limits on how much of your personal property, real estate, bank accounts, and other property you can keep, and how much you might have to turn over or pay to creditors. Most of our clients, especially in a Chapter 7, get to keep all of their “stuff.”
- Schedule D: List all of the debts you have which are secured by a piece of property. The most common “secured loan” is a car loan—if you stop paying the loan, they can take the car back.
- Schedule E: List Priority Claims—debts that have to get paid before others, like child support, taxes, and government fines and fees. These debts get paid before credit cards and medical bills.
- Schedule F: List unsecured debts (debts which are not secured by a piece of property), like credit cards, medical bills, or personal loans.
- Schedule G: List executory contracts and unexpired leases. The most common items here are rent-to-own contracts and timeshares.
- Schedule H: List any outstanding loan you cosigned on or had someone cosign for you on.
- Schedule I: Indicate your current average income .
- Schedule J: List your current actual expenses (the bills you have to pay every month).
In addition, debtors must file a Statement of Financial Affairs that discloses everything that will be helpful in determining what your overall financial situation is. In that statement, the court asks for income information for the last 3 years from employment and any other sources, such as Social Security or unemployment. You are also required to provide information regarding what types of collection actions have been taken against you—whether you have been sued in court, had a car repossessed, or had a home foreclosed upon. You also must disclose information about any payments you’ve made to anyone in the last several months, and whether you have sold any property or given any gifts or charitable contributions in the past two years. They also ask about your past addresses, any businesses you’ve owned, even if only a minority owner, and whether you have lived in a community property state with a spouse.
There is also a Statement of Intention in a Chapter 7 case, where you say whether you intend to keep or surrender property that has a loan out on it. This is not binding (you’re allowed to change your mind later); it just lets the creditors know what you intend to do.
The final form is the B22A Statement of Current Monthly Income and Means Test Calculation (Chapter 7) or B22C Statement of Current Monthly Income and Calculation of Commitment Period and Disposable Income (Chapter 13). These forms are required in order to demonstrate whether or not your case would be an abuse and to help determine a payment plan in Chapter 13. These forms require that we disclose all of the income you have received from any source in the past 6 months, even if you don’t receive that income any more. Then, we subtract certain expenses that are allowed under the law to determine whether there is any money left at the end of the month to pay back your creditors. If there is, you must file a Chapter 13; if not, you can usually file a Chapter 7. When you hire us, we will explain in more detail how this process works.
In a Chapter 13 case, the debtor also must file a Chapter 13 Plan. The Chapter 13 plan contains the debtor’s plan of reorganization. It identifies classes of creditors and proposes payments to specific creditors and classes of creditors. It also identifies the length of the plan. A plan can also contain special instructions on disbursements for the trustee and provides for payment of fees and costs to the trustee and to counsel for the debtor.
