Most debt collection actions against the debtor or the debtor’s property stop by filing under Chapter 13.  This is called “automatic stay.”  In order to file for bankruptcy, a debtor has to complete following forms.

• Signed Voluntary Petition
• Statement of Compliance with Credit Counseling Requirement
• Budget and Credit Counseling Certificate (A debtor should have completed budget and credit counseling before filing for bankruptcy)
• Signed Notice to Consumer Debtor
• Statement of Social Security Number
• Disclosure of Marital Status
• Certificate of Disclosure of Community Information

Filing fees may differ for a Chapter 7 case and a Chapter 13 case.

Apart from the above documents, a debtor may also have to file the following.

• Non-filing spouse information
• Summary of Schedules and statistical summary of certain liabilities and related data
• Schedule regarding real property
• Schedule regarding personal property
• Schedule regarding property claimed exempt
• Schedule regarding creditors holding unsecured priority claims
• Schedule regarding co-debtors
• Schedule regarding current income of individual debtor
• Schedule regarding current expenditure of individual debtor
• Declaration concerning debtor’s schedules, and
• Statement of financial affairs