Filling out bankruptcy forms can be one of the hardest parts of filing for bankruptcy, but they have to be done in order to finish the legal process. Unfortunately, these laws can add a lot of emotional stress to a situation that is already hard. Especially if you've decided to file for bankruptcy on your own, without the help of a lawyer or financial services company, it can be hard to figure out which bankruptcy forms go with which chapter.
If you are an individual filing for bankruptcy, you will probably have to fill out forms for either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. You can file for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 as a business, but you can also file for Chapter 11 as a business. In any case, there are different forms for each chapter that must be filled out if the person wants to file bankruptcy under that chapter.
The person or business may also need to fill out other forms that go with a certain chapter of bankruptcy. For example, Chapter 13 and Chapter 11 are reorganisation chapters, and they both need a form that explains how and when creditors will get together to talk about the person's or business's finances and come up with a plan for paying them back. If the person is filing for Chapter 7, which is a full liquidation, they will need to fill out forms for possible exemptions of assets if they want to keep any of their own things.
In all cases, the debtor will have to fill out bankruptcy forms about a statement of petition, a list of creditors, personal income, personal property, and a Declaration of penalty under perjury. These forms just tell the courts that the person or business wants to file for bankruptcy, what assets the debtor has, how much money he or she has right now, and that the debtor knows that lying about finances can lead to legal trouble.
Now that we live in a technological age, all bankruptcy forms can be found at http://www.uscourts.gov/bkforms/bankruptcy forms.html. Even though the forms are available, that doesn't mean that every person or business will be able to figure out which ones apply to them. Don't be afraid to ask the court system for help if you don't know which forms to fill out.
Unfortunately, the court system may be too busy with other cases that they think are more important, making it hard to find answers to bankruptcy form questions. In this case, you can always talk to a legal assistant, a bankruptcy lawyer, or a financial service organisation that can help you understand the paperwork better.
Even if you don't plan to hire an attorney to handle the case for you, it may be worth your time to talk to them about the paperwork that goes along with the process. You might also want to look into online bankruptcy service organisations, which can help answer questions and guide debtors through the process.
Keep in mind that each state court system has secretaries who can type up the forms for you for a fee. Most law firms and organisations that help people with legal problems offer similar services that may be helpful to debtors going through the process of filling out bankruptcy forms.
