Opening a Voluntary Petition

Rev. 05/02/19

OPENING A VOLUNTARY PETITION

Overview:

Filing of a voluntary petition is how an individual or other entity declares bankruptcy.  The voluntary petition provides the bankruptcy court with basic information to begin the case and the schedules and statements provide greater detail to the court as required by law.  Filing the petition generally operates to stop action by creditors to collect their debts. 

It is recommended that the following documents be filed separately:  Certificate of Credit Counseling, Certificate of Financial Management, Employee Income Records or Certification of No Payment Advices, Statement of Current Monthly Income and Means Test Calculation (Ch. 7), Statement of Monthly Income and Disposable Monthly Income (Ch. 13).

           DO NOT include Tax Documents and Statement of Social Security Number (Form 121) as part of the petition.

Refer to the CM/ECF Formatting Standards on how to enter names and addresses into the CM/ECF database.
 

Codes, Rules and Forms:

 

Bankruptcy Code:

 

109; 301; 302; 521

 

Bankruptcy Rule:

 

1002; 1007; 1009

Local Rule: 1002-1; 1007-1; 1007-2; 1007-3; 1009-1 Local  Form: 1007-1(c)
            Official Form: Bankruptcy Forms



CM/ECF Event(s):

            Case Opening, Open a Voluntary BK Case