Bankruptcy Petition - Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY PETITION

(Arizona – United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Arizona)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Document Header
2. Definitions
3. Voluntary Petition (Official Form 101)
4. Arizona-Specific Exemption Schedule (Official Form Schedule C – Modified for AZ)
5. Summary of Assets & Liabilities (Official Form 106Sum)
6. Schedules A/B – J (Official Forms 106A/B through 106J-2)
7. Statement of Financial Affairs (Official Form 107)
8. Statement of Intention (Official Form 108)
9. Creditor Matrix / Verification of Mailing List (Local Rule 1007-1)
10. Declaration About an Individual Debtor’s Schedules (Official Form 106Dec)
11. Means Test Calculation (Official Form 122A-1, 122A-2)
12. Certificate of Credit Counseling & Debt Repayment Plan
13. Verification of Social Security Number (Local Form B-121)
14. Signature / Execution Block

1. DOCUMENT HEADER

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
____________________________________
In re:                                     )   Chapter 7
                                           )
[Debtor Full Legal Name],                  )   Case No. _______________
[Debtor’s aka/fka],                        )
                                           )   VOLUNTARY PETITION
                    Debtor.                )   FOR RELIEF UNDER
____________________________________)          CHAPTER 7

Effective Date: [MM/DD/YYYY]
Jurisdiction: Federal Bankruptcy Code, Title 11, United States Code (“Bankruptcy Code”) and Local Rules of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona (“Local Rules”).

2. DEFINITIONS

“Arizona Exemptions” – Property exemptions available to an individual debtor domiciled in Arizona for the 730-day period preceding the petition date pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 33-1101 et seq. and § 33-1126 et seq.

“Automatic Stay” – The injunction arising on the Petition Date pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362.

“Debtor” – The individual(s) filing this Chapter 7 case.

“Petition Date” – The date on which the Voluntary Petition is filed with the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court.

“Trustee” – The Chapter 7 panel trustee appointed under 11 U.S.C. § 701.

3. VOLUNTARY PETITION (Official Form 101)

• Debtor Name(s): [First, Middle, Last, Suffix]
• All Other Names Used in the Last 8 Years: [aka/fka/maiden]
• Debtor SSN/ITIN (Last 4 digits only): [___]
• Address: [Street, City, State AZ, ZIP]
• Chapter Chosen: 7 (non-subchapter V)
• Nature of Debts: Primarily Consumer ☐ / Primarily Business ☐
• Prior Bankruptcy Cases filed within 8 years: [Case No., District, Date Filed]
• Statistical/Administrative Info: Estimated assets, liabilities, creditor headcount.

4. ARIZONA-SPECIFIC EXEMPTION SCHEDULE

(Official Form 106C – Schedule C modified with Arizona statutory citations)

5. SUMMARY OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES – OFFICIAL FORM 106Sum

[Populate totals from Schedules A/B – J automatically.]

6. SCHEDULES A/B – J (OFFICIAL FORMS 106A/B THROUGH 106J-2)

Key Arizona considerations:
• Community Property – Arizona is a community property state; list community vs. separate interests.
• Real Property valuations – obtain recent AVM or broker opinion; attach as “Valuation Exhibit 1”.
• Identify all domestic support obligations on Schedule E/F.

7. STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL AFFAIRS (OFFICIAL FORM 107)

[Include: employment history, prior income, transfers within 2 years (used goods, property conveyances), lawsuits, garnishments, repossessions, set-offs, gifts, charitable contributions, business ownership interests.]

8. STATEMENT OF INTENTION (OFFICIAL FORM 108)

File within 30 days of Petition Date. Serve on each secured creditor.

9. CREDITOR MATRIX & VERIFICATION (LOCAL RULE 1007-1)

10. DECLARATION ABOUT SCHEDULES (OFFICIAL FORM 106Dec)

Debtor(s) must sign under penalty of perjury. Electronic signature “/s/ [Typed Name]” acceptable per Local Rule 5005-2.

11. MEANS TEST CALCULATION

(Official Forms 122A-1 – Chapter 7 Statement of Current Monthly Income; 122A-2 – Means Test Calculation)

Arizona median income figures as of [Current IRS Release Date]. Update before filing.

12. CERTIFICATE OF CREDIT COUNSELING

Attach the certificate from an approved provider (see www.justice.gov/ust/credit-counseling-debt-providers) obtained within 180 days pre-petition.

13. VERIFICATION OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER (LOCAL FORM B-121)

File as a separate, restricted-access document.

14. SIGNATURE / EXECUTION BLOCK

Respectfully submitted this ___ day of __________, 20___.

/s/ [Debtor Name]________________________
[Debtor Name], Debtor

/s/ [Joint Debtor Name]___________________
[Joint Debtor Name], Joint Debtor (if any)

Prepared By:
/s/ [Attorney Name]_______________________
[Attorney Name], Esq.
[AZ Bar No. ______]
[Law Firm Name]
[Address]
[Phone] | [Email]
Counsel for Debtor(s)

Notary Acknowledgment (if required for local filing of certain exhibits):
State of Arizona )
County of _______ ) ss.

On this ____ day of __________, 20__, before me, the undersigned Notary Public, personally appeared ____________________, proved to me on the basis of satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) who executed the foregoing instrument, and acknowledged it to be their free act and deed.

_________________________________
Notary Public
My Commission Expires: ___________

RISK MANAGEMENT & COMPLIANCE NOTES

[// GUIDANCE]

1. Automatic Stay: Advise client regarding 11 U.S.C. § 362(b) exceptions (eviction, domestic support).
2. Means Test Flags: If presumption of abuse arises, prepare rebuttal under § 707(b)(2)(B).
3. Community Property: Non-filing spouse liabilities may be impacted; consider joint filing.
4. Asset Planning: Avoid pre-petition transfers that could trigger § 548 fraudulent-transfer lookback.
5. Trustee Procedures: The Arizona Chapter 7 trustee panel requires tax returns 7 days before § 341 meeting (Local Rule 4002-1).

GENERAL DRAFTING CHECKLIST

☐ Confirm debtor ID (DL + SSN card).
☐ Run PACER search for prior filings.
☐ Pull tri-merge credit report – populate creditors & addresses verbatim.
☐ Calculate exemption usage; attach valuation proofs.
☐ Upload e-filing PDFs in CM/ECF with separate event codes.
☐ Calendar § 341 meeting date once docketed.