How to File Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Without an Attorney
Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a legal action taken by an individual facing serious financial issues. The ultimate goal of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a reorganization of an individual's debts in a manner that will permit that person to satisfy these obligations with the income that he or she has available. Chapter 13 differs from the more common individual bankruptcy action known as a Chapter 7. Under Chapter 7, an individual's debts are discharged and the debtor's obligation to pay these creditors is extinguished. Under Chapter 13, the debts are renegotiated but the obligation to satisfy them continues.
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Things You'll Need
- Most recent statements from all of your creditors Pay stubs from the past three months Bank statements from the past three months Most recent income tax return
Instructions
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Obtain the most recent statements from all of your individual creditors. This includes credit card, automobile, medical, mortgage loan, student loan, past due tax statements as well as those from any other creditor, merchant or service provider to whom you have an outstanding balance due or owed.
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Gather your bank statements from at least the past three months. In addition to demonstrating what your debts are at the time you file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you need to verify your assets and your income.
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Organize your pay stubs from the past few months. Documenting the income that you have available to you is a crucial element of developing an overall "reorganization" plan for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.
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Obtain your last income tax return. Again, you will need to be able to document your assets and income with a great deal of accuracy as part of seeking bankruptcy relief under the provisions of Chapter 13.
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Locate a bankruptcy petition form or a computer software application that will permit you the ability to prepare such a document. You can find standard form Chapter 13 bankruptcy petitions in office supply stores. Software programs that will generate a bankruptcy petition for you can be found both online and at computer stores and business centers.
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Prepare the petition by inputting all required information. Keep in mind that the documents that you have gathered will be utilized as exhibits to the bankruptcy petition itself. Overall, the computer applications that have been developed to generate a bankruptcy petition are fairly user friendly and operate in a manner similar to tax return preparation applications. Similarly, the standard forms (in hard copy) are also fairly easy to complete.
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Contact the clerk of the bankruptcy court to find out both the fee that you will have to pay as well as the number of copies of the petition (in addition to the original) that you will need to file with the court.
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Consider completing an application for a payment plan for the filing fee. This form will be part of any software application or standard form packet. The court likely will grant you the ability to pay your filing fee in installments.
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Take your completed materials to the office of the clerk in the bankruptcy court. Make sure that you retain what is known as a "filed stamped" copy of the petition for your own records. (This is a copy of the document that has a date and time stamp on it from the clerk.) Keep in mind that the clerk's office cannot provide you legal advice. They can assist you with making sure you have all of the necessary completed documents and with getting these filed, but nothing more.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep in mind that a bankruptcy case is challenging. Therefore, you may want to seriously consider the assistance of legal counsel. While you most definitely can file and pursue a bankruptcy case on your own, when you are pursuing a Chapter 13 case there will be at least some negotiation with your debtors. In some cases this can best be undertaken by an experienced bankruptcy attorney to ensure that you end up with the best possible result.
