How to File for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Want to enjoy a debt-free life? Help is here

You don’t have to struggle with burdensome debt. By filing for Chapter 7, relief can be yours in as few as four months. How to File for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy explains the bankruptcy process in easy-to-understand language, including:

• whether you’ll qualify for a Chapter 7 discharge
• the debts that get wiped out in Chapter 7
• the property you’ll be able to keep, and
• how to retain a home or car.

Once you’re ready to file, you’ll use the step-by-step instructions to:

• complete the official bankruptcy court forms
• file your debtor education course certificates
• prepare for the meeting of creditors (the one appearance you’ll make), and
• rebuild your credit after receiving your fresh start.

With Downloadable Worksheets and Sample Forms. Get more than 40 additional resources, including samples of completed bankruptcy forms, fillable financial worksheets, current income and exemption charts, motions, and more on (details inside).

Cara O'Neill is a legal editor and writer at Nolo, focusing on bankruptcy and small claims. She has authored a variety of Nolo book titles, including The New Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, and Everybody’s Guide to Small Claims Court. Before joining Nolo, Cara practiced for over 20 years in civil litigation and bankruptcy. During that time, she served as an Administrative Law Judge mediating disputes in the automotive industry, taught undergraduate and graduate law courses, and served as house counsel for a large insurance company. She earned her law degree in 1994 from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, where she served as a law review editor and graduated a member of the Order of the Barristers―an honor society recognizing excellence in courtroom advocacy. Cara maintains a bankruptcy practice in Roseville, California at the Law Office of Cara O’Neill.

After receiving his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1985, Albin Renauer worked for various public-interest law firms in the bay area and as a staff attorney for Chief Justice Rose Bird of the California Supreme Court. He spent 17 years as an editor at Nolo, where he helped create numerous books and software programs, including the bestselling Quicken WillMaker. He also edited Law on the Net, the first online directory of legal resources and was the architect of Nolo's Webby Award winning website during the dot-com boom. Currently, Albin is an independent web and database developer and Webby Award judge. His latest project is LegalConsumer.com, an online companion to his How to File for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy designed to help debtors file for bankruptcy.