Is Bankruptcy Complicated? Take a Look at the Forms

If  you’ve been overwhelmed by collection agents who hound you day and night, perhaps you’ve considered filing for bankruptcy so you can start all over. It might save you money, you may be thinking, to just handle the whole thing yourself rather than hiring an attorney who specializes in the field. Before taking that thought too far, it might be worthwhile to take a look at just some of the forms you’ll be having to deal with.

• Form 101: The basics about you required to start proceedings;
• Form 106: Information about your current state of finances, from income and earnings to debt.
• Form 106 G: A list of all contracts and leases in which you are involved;
• Form106 A/B: Relates to all property you own;
• Form 106 D: A list of all creditors who have claims secured with collateral;
• Form 106 E/F: A list of all unsecured claims from creditors;
• Form 106 H: A list of any persons who might share in responsibility for your debt;
• Form 106 C: The list of property you wish to exempt and protect during the bankruptcy process.

That’s just the beginning. Is your head spinning yet? Now, if you’re facing an involuntary

bankruptcy, you’ll also need to fill out Form 105 to provide information about your employment and finances, along with information about the claims against you.

Forms for Chapter 7

Additional forms will be required for those filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. These forms are centered around means testing, which relates to your ability to repay debt and the amount of debt that might be discharged through the bankruptcy process:

• Form 122 A: Information about your income and expenses to determine your disposable income.
• Form 108: Your plan to repay or surrender particular property;
• Form 103 B: Relates to having the filing fee waived, or;
• Form 103 A: A request to pay the filing fee in installments.

Forms for Chapter 13

For those wishing to go with a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, there are different forms required

• Form 113: A description of your repayment plan;
• Form 122 C1: An overview of your income to help determine the length of the repayment period;
• Form 122C2: A list of your disposable income.

There’s More

Beyond filling out complex forms and getting them to the right place at the right time, you will be the recipient of numerous forms that notify creditors of the plan, grant discharge, and more.  While all this is going on, you will be expected to attend a meeting with creditors and a court-appointed trustee. Only in rare cases are filers expected to meet with a judge.

Get an Experienced Attorney on Your Side

At The Law Office of Julia Kefilanos, we are eager to assist you with the complications and stress associated with filing for bankruptcy. Legally, anyone can file for bankruptcy on their own as a pro-se filer.  Unfortunately, about one-third of such filers fail to have debt discharged because they just don’t know the ins and outs of the process. Contrast that to the rate for individuals who have a local experienced bankruptcy attorney who represents them throughout the process and have a 96 percent success rate. For anyone facing precarious financial troubles, a call to our Miami bankruptcy lawyers will be well worth it. Schedule a confidential consultation today.

Source:

uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/b_101.pdf