US Bankruptcy Court

     Bankruptcy cases are filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.  The US Bankruptcy Court is a federal district court and there are eighty-nine of them in the country.  Bankruptcy statutes are federal law as is the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005.  The cost of a  filing increased as of April 2006.  The filing fee for Chapter 7 bankruptcy is $299 and for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy it is $274.

     States also have laws regarding assets and asset exemption.  The 2005 law imposed a two year residency requirement on filers, meaning the filer has to have lived in that state for two years in order to use a state's asset rules.  If the filer cannot meet the residency requirements, he must use the rules of the previous state or the federal rules. The residency requirement prevents people from moving to a state with lenient rules for the purpose of filing bankruptcy.

US Bankruptcy Court Information

     The US Bankruptcy Court has a website that the potential filers should visit. The US Bankruptcy Court websites provide a wealth of information about bankruptcy law, the differences between the different chapters and the filing process.  They provide information and instructions for the income means test and the computation of disposable income to determine the potential filer's eligibility for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  There is also information and directions for the valuation of assets, for those filing under Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  The Arizona court's website does this by having the potential filer filling out a questionnaire and watching a bankruptcy education program before being put in contact with a bankruptcy attorney.  Every court's website is pretty much self-contained in the information presented.  If you don't find the information you need on one court website, check another website.

US Bankruptcy Court Advice

     The US Bankruptcy Court websites have instructions for filing online for debtors who don't want to hire an attorney.  This is called a pro se filing, the debtor represents himself without the benefit of a bankruptcy lawyer.  The court websites have the necessary forms, whether the debtor is filing pro se or not.  The pro se filer might want to reconsider if he really wants to represent himself in the procedure.  A bankruptcy law firm does provide a valuable service even though they represent another cost in the proceeding.  The value of the bankruptcy law firm is to advise and to help the client get the best deal possible.  Law firms have specialists to handle negotiations with creditors. Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases involve the renegotiation of the terms of the debt and payment schedule.  An experienced negotiator can negotiate the terms in such a way that a portion of the debt can be discharged once the debtor has performed his part of the deal.  This is something that might be overlooked by the inexperienced debtor trying to handle his own negotiations.  The law firm's staff is comprised of specialists who know all of the ins and outs of bankruptcy law and proceedings.

The credit counseling agency's services are also an additional fee.  They too can be the source of valuable advice for the bankruptcy filer. You should seek the advice of a professional that knows the in's and out's of the US Bankruptcy Court.