Do you want free bankruptcy forms for your Chapter 13 filing? Declaring personal bankruptcy without an attorney requires submitting many legal forms yourself. As a ‘pro se’ (pronounced ‘proh say’) filer, the United States Bankruptcy Court is expecting you to exhibit ‘due diligence.’ A majority of the work is trying to figure out independently how to fill out the court forms. You need to complete many official forms before you can file them. If you visit the official download page of your local Bankruptcy Court, you’ll see several forms listed in there. The page lists both business and consumer bankruptcy forms together. What’s worse is the forms don’t have any clear categories. For example, which forms are needed for Chapter 13 or for Chapter 7? Your initial obstacle is to research which official forms to use.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Forms Checklist to the Rescue

To make your task easier you should get a Chapter 13 bankruptcy forms checklist. You will see many websites offering free bankruptcy forms but only a few of them offers a checklist. If you happen to visit a website offering a free Chapter 13 checklist then do not hesitate to get it quickly. It is to your own advantage.

A good Chapter 13 checklist can tell you which form to use if you want to pay the filing fee in installments. Some of them contain due dates for each form. For example, which forms do you need to file after paying the court fees? Which forms can you file within 15 days?

Commercial VS Free Bankruptcy Forms

One of the benefits of using a commercial kit is convenience. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy kit can save you time and frustration in understanding the bankruptcy process. If you are planning to buy one, make sure the kit contains completed sample of each forms. A sample repayment plan can give you an insight on how to decide your own Chapter 13 plan.

Another important feature to consider is how recent the forms you are buying. The Federal Court updates the official forms from time to time as they see fit. Never buy from a seller that cannot tell you when they last updated their product. Using old forms can have negative consequences to your case.

What is Your Backup Plan?

If for some reason you decide that self-filing is too difficult for you, it’s wise to have a backup plan. Filing personal Chapter 13 bankruptcy can be a daunting task for some individuals. For the average debtor, reading tons of instruction manuals can give them a headache. Having a free alternative plan is always a wise decision when things don’t work out as you want them to.