The Schedules: The Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Process

The Schedules is part 4 of a 10 part series on Chapter 7 bankruptcy and will provide general information regarding bankruptcy under Chapter 7. 

Debtor’s counsel, working with the debtor, will prepare the bankruptcy petition and all supporting schedules and statements. The information on the required court filings includes: the debtor’s property, both real and personal, and values; exemption claims; the secured, priority unsecured, and general unsecured creditors, including addresses, account numbers, and amounts; any obligation for which there is a co-debtor; executory contracts and unexpired leases where the debtor is a party; monthly income and expenses; a statement of financial affairs, that includes disclosure of a variety of financial information (including past income, lawsuits, payments to creditors, repossessions, and business information); a disclosure of compensation paid to the debtor’s attorney; a statement regarding the debtor’s intention with respect to secured consumer debt; a mailing matrix listing the addresses of all creditors; and the means test analysis.

The debtor signs the petition and schedules under penalty of perjury. False oaths subject the debtor to both denial of discharge and possible criminal penalties. Accuracy of schedules is critical to the success of the filing.

In the case of a corporate debtor, there should also be a resolution of the corporation or consent of all directors authorizing the filing and the hiring of debtor's counsel.

Contact the bankruptcy attorneys at Wenokur Riordan PLLC today at (206) 724-0846 to discuss your situation. 

This article is intended to provide you with enough detail to give you a good basic understanding of the process, without snowing you under with too much information. Obviously, there are exceptions and nuances to just about everything described in this outline. The Bankruptcy Code, Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, and reported case law are the primary sources of information. All section references here are to the United States Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C. § 101 et seq. All Rule references are to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure.