What Happens in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Proceeding?

First you file for bankruptcy. You fill out a petition and several other forms that ask about your income, debts, and property and file them with the court. It costs about $150 to file (single or a married couple). If you can’t afford the fee, you may be allowed to pay it in installments, or may even get it waived. Attorney’s fees will typically run anywhere from $500 to $3,000, depending on your case. Shortly after you file, you are given a court date, and your creditors are notified that you have filed.

Many consumers are very relieved after filing. They don’t have to endure nasty calls from debt collectors anymorethey can just tell them they have filed for bankruptcy.

Next, you go to court for the “meeting of the creditors.” The name is deceptive, because creditors are unlikely to show up unless they plan to challenge your petition. Instead, you will meet with the trustee (the person the court appoints to administer your bankruptcy), who will go over your plan to determine if it is acceptable.

After the meeting of the creditors, the trustee will arrange to collect and sell your nonexempt property (I’ll talk about that in a minute) and divide the cash among your creditors. If you can come up with the cash value of property you want to keep, you may be allowed to hold on to it. Or you may be able to exchange exempt property for nonexempt property.

Typically, your bankruptcy is discharged within three to six months of when you filed. This is the final act of the court, which clears you from your debts. You might have to go to court for a discharge hearing, but more likely you’ll be notified by mail of the discharge. After your bankruptcy has been discharged, creditors generally cannot try to collect any unpaid debts from you except, of course, for debts that weren’t discharged.

What Can You Keep?

When you file Chapter 7, you basically “wipe out” most debts after giving up some of your property. The property you get to keep is called “exempt” property. There are basically two types of rules that determine what you get to keep: state exemptions and federal exemptions. If you live in Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, or the District of Columbia, you can choose whether you want to file under federal exemptions or your state’s exemptions. (Federal exemptions are usually better.) California filers have two state exemption lists to choose between. Everywhere else, you can only file under the state exemption schedule.