See the sequence of a Chapter 7 case from credit counseling through discharge. Enter a target filing date and the tool projects the approximate date of each milestone, based on the standard federal deadlines that apply to every Chapter 7 case.
A pre-filing credit counseling course from a court-approved provider is required before the petition can be filed. The certificate is valid for 180 days.
You provide credit reports, income records, and asset and debt information. I type the Voluntary Petition, Schedules A–J, the Statement of Financial Affairs, the means test calculation, and the creditor matrix from what you provide.
The case is filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. The automatic stay takes effect immediately on filing, halting most collection activity, wage garnishments, and foreclosure sales.
The court assigns a case number and a panel trustee, and mails notice of the case and the 341 meeting date to you and to all creditors on your matrix.
You attend and answer the trustee's questions under oath about the information in your petition. It is normally short, and creditors rarely appear. Attendance is mandatory. Bring photo ID and proof of your Social Security number.
A second, different course — post-filing debtor education — must be completed and the certificate filed. Missing this step is a common reason a case closes without a discharge.
Creditors and the trustee have 60 days from the 341 meeting to object to discharge or to the dischargeability of a particular debt. In most no-asset consumer cases, no objection is filed.
If no objections are filed and both courses are on record, the court enters the discharge order, releasing you from personal liability on the qualifying debts.
The trustee files a final report and the clerk closes the case. In a no-asset case this usually follows shortly after discharge.
Deadlines shown are the standard federal timeframes under the Bankruptcy Code and Rules. Asset cases, reaffirmation agreements, amended schedules, trustee document requests, and continued 341 meetings can all extend a case beyond these ranges.