Chapter 7 Complete Your Bankruptcy Forms

• Library: Chapter 13 Bankruptcy (Nolo) (2020 Ed.)

CHAPTER 7: Complete Your Bankruptcy Forms

Required Forms, Fees, and Where to File

Filing in the Right Bankruptcy Court

Bankruptcy Filing Fees

Required Bankruptcy Forms

Where to Get the Official Forms

Local Forms and Requirements

Things to Think About When Reviewing the Forms

For Married Filers

Are You Married?

Should You File Jointly?

Voluntary Petition for Individuals Filing For Bankruptcy (Form 101)

Forms Relating to Eviction Judgments (Forms 101A and 101B)

Schedules (Forms 106A/B-J)

Schedule A/B: Property (Form 106A/B)

Schedule C: The Property You Claim as Exempt (Form 106C)

Schedule D: Creditors Who Hold Claims Secured by Property (Form 106D)

Schedule E/F: Creditors Who Have Unsecured Claims (Form 106 E/F)

Schedule G: Executory Contracts and Unexpired Leases (Form 106G)

Schedule H: Your Codebtors (Form 106H)

Schedule I: Your Income (Form 106I)

Schedule J: Your Expenses (Form 106J)

Summary of Your Assets and Liabilities and Certain Statistical Information (Form 106Sum)

Declaration About an Individual Debtor's Schedules (Form 106Dec)

Your Statement of Financial Affairs for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy (Form 107)

Your Statement About Your Social Security Numbers (Form 121)

Chapter 13 Statement of Your Current Monthly Income and Calculation of Commitment Period and Chapter 13 Calculation of Your Disposable Income (Forms 122C-1 and 122C-2)

Disclosure of Compensation of Attorney for Debtor (Form 2030)

Mailing Matrix

Income Deduction Order

In this chapter, we review the Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition as well as the schedules and other forms you will have to file for your Chapter 13 case (except for your repayment plan, which is covered in Ch. 8).

We discuss the purpose of each form, the type of information required, and legal issues to consider when completing the forms. Your bankruptcy attorney will prepare the forms for you, but it's important to know what information must be disclosed in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and why. This knowledge will help you:

• prepare for your first visit with your lawyer
• make decisions with your lawyer about how to proceed, and
• ensure that your petition is accurate and complete.

Required Forms, Fees, and Where to File

Here's a quick rundown of the official bankruptcy forms, fees to file your case, special local requirements, and where to file your petition.

Filing in the Right Bankruptcy Court

Because bankruptcy is a creature of federal, not state, law, you must file for bankruptcy in a special federal court. There are federal bankruptcy courts all over the country.

The federal court system divides the country into judicial districts. Every state has at least one judicial district; most have more. You can file in either:

• the district where you have been living for the greater part of the 180-day period before you file, or
• the district where you are domiciled—that is, where you maintain your home, even if you have been living elsewhere temporarily (such as on a military base).

Bankruptcy Filing Fees

The total fee to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy is $310. Fees change, however. Your local bankruptcy attorney will have the current figures, or you can check with the court. This fee is due upon filing, unless you qualify for a waiver of fees or obtain court permission to pay in installments; however, Chapter 13 filers seldom qualify for a fee modification because the income level needed to file for Chapter 13 is usually too high to qualify for a waiver or installment payments.

Required Bankruptcy Forms

Bankruptcy uses official forms prescribed by the federal office of the courts. These are the standard forms that must be filed in every Chapter 13 bankruptcy:

[ ] Form 101—Voluntary Petition for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy

[ ] Form 101A—Initial Statement About an Eviction Judgment Against You (not everyone has to file this)
[ ] Form 101B—Statement About Payment of an Eviction Judgment Against You (not everyone has to file this)
[ ] Form 106Dec—Declaration About an Individual Debtor's Schedules
[ ] Form 106Sum—A Summary of Your Assets and Liabilities and Certain Statistical Information
[ ] Form 106A/B—Schedule A/B: Property

[ ] Form 106C—Schedule C: The Property You Claim as Exempt
[ ] Form 106D—Schedule D: Creditors Who Hold Claims Secured by Property
[ ] Form 106E/F—Schedule E/F: Creditors Who Have Unsecured Claims
[ ] Form 106G—Schedule G: Executory Contracts and Unexpired Leases
[ ] Form 106H—Schedule H: Your Codebtors
[ ] Form 106I—Schedule I: Your Income
[ ] Form 106J—Schedule J: Your Expenses

[ ] Form 106J-2—Schedule J-2: Expenses for Separate Household of Debtor 2 (not everyone has to file this)

[ ] Form 107—Your Statement of Financial Affairs for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy
[ ] Form 113—Chapter 13 Plan or local Chapter 13 plan form (covered in Ch. 8)
[ ] Form 121—Your Statement About Your Social Security Numbers
[ ] Form 122C-1—Chapter 13 Statement of Your Current Monthly Income and Calculation of Commitment Period
[ ] Form 122C-2—Chapter 13 Calculation of Your Disposable Income
[ ] Form 2030—Disclosure of Compensation of Attorney for Debtor
[ ] Mailing Matrix and required local forms, if any.

Except for Forms 122C-1 and 122C-2, which require you to do some math, the forms addressed in this chapter are relatively straightforward.

Together, these forms usually are referred to as your "bankruptcy petition," although technically your petition is only Form 101. (In case you're wondering, Forms 102, 104, and 105 aren't used in voluntary Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings. Form 103 is an application to pay the filing fee in installments, which Chapter 13 filers generally won't file since they won't qualify.)

Where to Get the Official Forms

You can find copies of the official bankruptcy forms on the website of the United States Courts at www.uscourts.gov/forms/bankruptcy-forms. You might want to look at the forms as you read about each one in this chapter, or review them before you visit an attorney. Your bankruptcy attorney will have software for completing your bankruptcy paperwork.

Local Forms and Requirements

In addition to the official forms that every bankruptcy court uses, your local bankruptcy court might require you to file one or two additional local forms. It might also have special requirements or rules for filing your petition and supporting documents. Your bankruptcy attorney should have the correct forms and be familiar with what your local court requires. You can also get these forms and requirements from the bankruptcy court clerk or on the court's website.

RESOURCE

Finding your local bankruptcy court's website. Go to the court finder at www.uscourts.gov/federal-court-finder/search. You can either search by location or by the type of court.

Things to Think About When Reviewing the Forms

Here are some things to keep in mind as you provide your attorney with the necessary information to complete the forms or review the forms completed by your attorney.

Be ridiculously thorough. Always err on the side of giving too much information to your attorney and the court, rather than too little. If you leave information out, the bankruptcy trustee might become suspicious of your motives. If you leave creditors off the forms, the debts you owe these creditors won't be discharged—hardly the result you would want. If you intentionally or carelessly fail to list all your property and debts, or fail to describe your recent property transactions accurately, the court, upon a request by the trustee, might find that you acted with fraudulent intent and deny your bankruptcy discharge altogether.

Don't worry about repetition. Sometimes different forms—or different questions on the same form—ask for the same or overlapping information. Be sure to provide the information completely each time it is requested. Your attorney will do the same—too much information is never a bad thing in bankruptcy. However, there are a couple of exceptions to this general rule: When completing Forms 122C-1 and 122C-2, be careful not to list expenses twice, and when completing Schedule A/B, list each item of property only once.

Be scrupulously honest. As part of your official bankruptcy paperwork, you must complete declarations under penalty of perjury, swearing that you've been truthful. It's important to realize that you could be prosecuted for perjury if you're found to have deliberately lied. If your attorney leaves something out, you will be responsible for the error, so thoroughly review the paperwork before you sign and be sure that you understand each item. Finally, never sign forms that have not been filled out.

For Married Filers

If you are married, you and your spouse will have to decide whether one of you should file alone or whether you should file jointly. To make this decision, you'll first have to make sure that you're married in the eyes of the federal law (a trickier issue than you might think) and then consider how filing together or separately will affect your debts and property.

Are You Married?

If you were married with a valid state license, you are married for purposes of filing a joint petition—and you can skip down to "Should You File Jointly?" below. However, if you were not married with a license and ceremony, or if you're in a domestic partnership or civil union, read on.

Common Law Marriage

Some states allow couples to establish "common law" marriages, which the states will recognize as valid marriages even though the couples don't have a state marriage license or certificate. Contrary to popular belief, a common law marriage is not created when two people simply live together for a certain number of years. To have a valid common law marriage, the couple must do all of the following:

• live together for a significant period of time (not defined in any state)
• hold themselves out as a married couple—typically this means using the same last name, referring to the other as "my husband," "my wife," or "my spouse," and filing a joint tax

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