What Paperwork Do I Need for Bankruptcy?
- You must have proof of your income for the six month period prior to the month in which you file bankruptcy. For example, if you file bankruptcy in October, you must have proof of income for March through September. Proof of income includes pay stubs, ledgers from your employer or even handwritten records if you are self-employed. Your attorney will need this documentation to complete your paperwork, and you will need to submit some of these records to the court.
- You will also need your federal tax returns for the three years prior to the year you file bankruptcy. Your bankruptcy trustee may want to review them, and your attorney will also need them to complete your Statement of Financial Affairs.
- The petition is the document you file to initiate a bankruptcy. It must include your name, Social Security number, current residence address and signature. Your attorney will also sign the petition. You must file the petition with its Exhibit D (Individual Debtor's Statement of Compliance with Credit Counseling Requirement).
- Within 14 days after you file your petition, you must file your bankruptcy schedules. Schedule A is a list of your real property, which includes houses, buildings and land; Schedule B is a list of all of your other property, such as clothing, money, pets, cars, retirement accounts, business interests, tools and so on. Schedule C lists all of the property you are exempting from the bankruptcy estate; Schedule D lists your secured creditors, such as car lenders and mortgage companies; Schedule F lists your unsecured debts, such as student loans, credit cards, medical bills and personal loans; Schedule G lists any unexpired leases; Schedule H lists any co-debtors you may have for any of your debts; Schedule I lists your current income and Schedule J lists your current monthly expenses.
- You must also file your Statement of Financial Affairs within 14 days after you file your petition. The Statement of Financial Affairs discloses various types of information, such as your income for the previous three years or whether you have closed any businesses or sold any property.
- You must file the Statement of Intention with your schedules to indicate to both the court and your creditors whether you intend to keep your secured property. If you have a house, a car, a boat or any other property that you purchased on credit, you must indicate whether you intend to surrender the property, reaffirm the debt by agreement or redeem the property by paying its full value up front. The Statement of Intention will also state whether you intend to assume any leases or reject them.
- Every individual bankruptcy must include the Statement of Current Monthly Income, which is also called the Means Test. The Means Test form and calculation are different for Chapter 7, Chapter 13 and Chapter 11. The Means Test will determine whether you can file Chapter 7 and how much you must pay into a Chapter 13 plan. The Chapter 11 Means Test generally does not affect a Chapter 11 case.
- After your bankruptcy has been filed, you must complete the second part of your credit counseling and sign Form B23, Debtor's Certification of Completion of Post-Petition Instructional Course Concerning Personal Financial Management. In a Chapter 7 case, you must file this form within 45 days after the first date set for your 341 Meeting of Creditors. In either a Chapter 13 or Chapter 11 case, you must file the form before your last plan payment is due.
- When you file your bankruptcy schedules, you must also submit a signed declaration that all of the information contained therein is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge. You sign this declaration under penalty of perjury.
- Your attorney may want you to provide other supporting documentation, such as the deed to your house, the title to your car, copies of your recorded mortgages and copies of all of your most recent statements from your creditors.
