Bankruptcy filing is at an all time high. With the economy in a downturn, people out of work, and bills piling up, people are looking for relief. Fortunately, Congress has provided relief in the form of bankruptcy under Title 11 of the US Code. This part of the US Code provides for all forms of bankruptcy, including 4 sections that apply to individuals.

Bankruptcy filing is accomplished by filing approved forms. These forms, of course, attempt to follow the bankruptcy code and procedural rules enacted by Congress. But these forms stop short of being an instruction manual. To determine what information should be included and to what extent, understand the code, regulations, local regulations, and case law. This is what the forms don’t tell you.

For example, when filing for bankruptcy, a person must complete, among other things, something called schedules. Two of the schedules are Schedule B and Schedule C. Schedule B contains a list of assets, along with the value of those assets. Exhibit C contains a list of exemptions claimed. A recent Supreme Court decision outlined the importance of listing the value and exemption amounts in such a way that the trustee can determine whether the debtor intended the amount to be a fixed amount of value or a percentage of value. This may sound simplistic, however the forms simply ask for a value without explanation or reference to case law.

If you don’t properly familiarize yourself with everything you need to file for bankruptcy, or if you don’t hire a competent attorney or bankruptcy form preparer, you could have unintended consequences. This could include, but is not limited to, the unforeseen sale of assets by the trustee or the early dismissal of the case by the Court; This stems from a simple misunderstanding of what numbers to put where on bankruptcy forms.

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