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If you are thinking about filing bankruptcy, you must know how to declare bankruptcy. Before you can file either Chapter 7 or 13, you must be able to pass under what is called a “means test”. The means test identifies which people have the financial capacity to continue to pay a significant portion of their bills to creditors. The means test involves comparing the persons’s income to the average income of the state or county in which the debtor resides. If the debtor’s gross income is above the average, another set of calculations (based on ratios of debt to income) will identify whether he or she can file a Chapter 7 liquidation or Chapter 13 repayment case.
It does not matter where you are located, in order to file bankruptcy, there is a lot of paperwork to file. The bankruptcy process begins with the filing of a petition and many forms with the local bankruptcy court. These forms consist of itemized lists of all your assets, debts, income, expenses, as well as other very important personal background and financial information. In addition, you must file a certificate of credit counseling, tax returns (or transcripts) for the recent tax year; all tax returns that were filed with the IRS while your bankruptcy case is pending; copies of pay stubs or other proof of income received 60 days prior to filing; statement of currently monthly income and any reasonably anticipated changes in income or expenses after filing.
While in a Chapter 7 (liquidation) case, the bankruptcy court will appoint a trustee to represent the interests of your creditors. After a month or so from the date of the filing, you have to be present at a “meeting of creditors” in which the trustee will answer all questions regarding your assets, debts, and other financial information. Despite the name, banks and creditors hardly ever are at these meetings. Once finished with the meeting, the trustee liquidates the property that may be taken from you. He or she will then take the cash and split it amongst the creditors. Once liquidation is done, the court will schedule one last hearing and discharge all debts. At this point, you no longer legally owe your creditors and they are forbidden from trying to collect anything from you.
A Chapter 13 (wage earner) bankruptcy case begins by filing the same papers as under a Chapter 7. In addition, you must file a workable plan for repaying your debts with the bankruptcy court, which will approve the plan. You start sending payments directly to the chapter 13 trustee shortly after filing. The trustee then pays your creditors according to the terms of the court-approved plan. When you have repaid your creditors according to the plan, a court hearing will be held and you will be discharged. The debtor is protected from lawsuits, garnishments, and other creditor actions while the plan is in effect.
Chapter 13 is often preferable to chapter 7 debt relief because it enables the debtor to keep a valuable asset, such as a house, and because it allows the debtor to propose a “plan” to repay creditors over time – usually three to five years. Chapter 13 is also used by consumer debtors who do not qualify for chapter 7 under the means test.
