Filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Maine
Getting Started
CONTENTS
Important Cautionary Notes
Step One: Credit Counselling
Step Two: Fill out the Court Forms
Step Three: File all Required Forms and Documents
Step Four: Send Tax Return and Wage Information to the Trustee
Step Five: First Meeting of Creditors
Step Six: Financial Management Course
Get More Information
Frequently Asked Questions
Important! This information is for individuals who need to file for bankruptcy
and who cannot get help from a lawyer. Important steps you need to take before trying to file for bankruptcy
on your own:
- Read our pre-filing information: Bankruptcy: Is it the
right choice for you? This will help you decide whether you really want
to file for bankruptcy, what type of filing you may need, and how to get ready to file.
- Try to get a lawyer. The bankruptcy laws are complicated. It is difficult to go
through the bankruptcy court on your own. Also, the new law requires that your case to be dismissed if you
don’t complete certain steps correctly and on time. So, if you can afford it, get a lawyer who specializes
in bankruptcy law.
If you have taken all of the above steps and have no other options left but to file on you own,
then you may want to use this information to help you get started.
This information will not help you if you need to file under Chapter 11, 12 or 13 of the Bankruptcy
Code. This information is for Chapter 7 filers. (See our
pre-filing information.) If you are not filing under Chapter 7, we recommend again that you get a
lawyer. |
 Caution: Many of
these rules and procedures are new. We will be revising this as we learn of of new developments.
In the meantime, rules will be changing quickly, and we may miss things. If you know of any changes or corrections,
please let us know. We also invite comments and corrections from the
bar, the trustees and the court.
Thanks to William
Sandstead, an experienced bankruptcy attorney with offices in Portland, for
his help in developing this information.
| Step One: Credit Counseling |
The new law requires you to complete credit counseling before filing for bankruptcy. When you get your
credit
counseling “certificate of completion,” you must file for bankruptcy within 180 days (about
6 months). If you
miss this deadline, you have to go through counseling again before you can file your petition with the
court. There are only a
few “approved” credit counselors in Maine.
Get the listing of approved agencies online
or from the bankruptcy court
clerk. In certain cases (emergency, disability, incapacity, or active military duty), you may be able to
get this
requirement waived or deferred to a later date, but these requests are rarely granted.
The normal fee for this service is about $50.00. If you cannot afford the fee, ask for a reduced fee or a
fee waiver.
The agency is required to waive fees for anyone who cannot afford to pay.
Important Note: If you plan to hire a lawyer, talk to the lawyer before you sign up for
credit counseling. Your lawyer may want to advise you on things like which agency to use, when to sign up, and
other basics.
| Step Two: Fill out the Required Court Forms |
Here is a list of the court forms you must read and complete:
| Step Three: File all Required Forms and Documents |
Make copies of all of the above completed court forms. These will be for your files. To prepare for filing
with the court,
you will also need copies of these documents:
- certificate of credit counseling (see Step One above)
- any debt repayment plan you developed during your credit counseling
File with the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court all of the forms and documents listed above.
Make sure that you have provided
complete information on all of the court forms. Your petition can be dismissed for failure to provide all
required information.
Maine has bankruptcy courts in Portland and Bangor. File in the court serving the area where you have lived
for the
last six months (or for most of the last six months).
Go to list of counties served by each of these Maine Courts.
At the same time you file, you must pay the filing fee and related court fees. The total cost is $353. A
husband and
wife filing a single petition will pay one filing fee.
If you have a low income and cannot afford these fees, you have two other options:
- You can ask the court to let you pay the fee in installments.
Use Form B3A.
- You can ask the court for a fee waiver.
Use Form B3B.
File this form with your other court papers. The court must waive your filings fees if your income is
below 150% of the
current poverty level and you cannot afford to pay in installments. If the court grants your
waiver or installment plan, your
case will be filed. If your waiver is denied, you will have to follow the court’s order on
payment of fees to
avoid dismissal.
| Step Four: Send Tax Return and Wage Information to the Trustee |
After your case is successfully filed, the court clerk will assign a trustee to your case and set a
meeting of creditors.
At least 7 days before this initial meeting, you must send to the trustee:
- a copy of your most recent federal tax return or transcript
- evidence of all payments from employers, if any, received 60 days before filing (such as pay
stubs or a statement from your employer)
At the same time send a notice to the Bankruptcy Court clerk, verifying that you have provided this
information to the Trustee.
If you fail to complete these steps, your case can be dismissed.
|
Tips:
- To protect your privacy, you may black out all but the last four digits of your Social Security
number and private account numbers, as well as names and birthdates of children (use initials
only), that may appear on these documents.
- Any creditor may also request a copy of your tax return before you send it to the
Trustee. So you will
help yourself by sending this to the Trustee as soon as you can, before you get any creditor
requests.
|
If you complete another tax return while your case is pending, you must file that with the trustee,
as well.
| Step Five: First Meeting of Creditors |
This meeting is held by the Trustee assigned to your case. You must go to the meeting.
The court posts driving directions to the
creditor meeting sites.
The Trustee will
determine
whether you have any unprotected assets that can be liquidated to pay creditors. He will also
review your situation to
determine whether he should object to your discharge.
Pay close attention to the Trustee’s instructions. He will making important decisions about your
case.
| Step Six: Financial Management Course |
You must complete a “financial management instructional course.” It is anticipated that the
fee for this brief
session (about 2 hours) will be about $50. You should complete this course and file
Form B-23 with the court
clerk within 45
days after the first date set for the meeting of creditors. You cannot get a discharge unless
this form is filed, or you get a
waiver from this requirement (based on disability, incapacity, or active military service).
Granting of these waivers is rare. If
you cannot afford the cost of this course, the law requires the course provider to offer it to you at a
reduced fee or for free.
Frequently Asked Questions
On the national
U.S. Bankruptcy Court website:
Bankruptcy Forms Manual
(complete index, with links, to all of the official court forms)
Bankruptcy Basics
Chapter 7 Basics
Glossary of
Bankruptcy Code terms
For more information on local practices, go to the
District of Maine Bankruptcy Court pages, including:
Information for Self-Filers
(includes contact information and directions to courts and creditors meetings)
Interactive version of many of the basic
court forms (fill out online, then print)
More FAQ’s
The U.S. Trustees Program also posts a
large volume of bankruptcy-related information.
|
Notice
© Pine Tree
Legal Assistance
January 2006
Sometimes the laws
change. We cannot promise that this information is always
up-to-date and correct. If the date above is not this year,
call us to see if there is an update.
We provide this
information as a public service. It is not legal advice.
By sending you this information, we are not acting as your lawyer.
Always consult a lawyer, if you can, before taking legal action.
Please review our full terms-of-use agreement
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