Filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Memphis TN requires completing numerous forms with precision. A sample bankruptcy petition chapter 7 involves gathering financial documents, filling out schedules, and meeting legal requirements before submission.
At Hurst Law Firm, P.A., we guide clients through each step of this process. This guide walks you through the exact forms and information you’ll need to prepare your petition correctly.
1. Start With the Documents You Already Have
The first step toward filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Memphis TN is pulling together documents you likely already possess. Gather your driver’s license, state ID, or passport for identification purposes, along with a recent utility bill or lease agreement to establish residency. You’ll also need the last two years of federal tax returns, which you can obtain from the IRS if you don’t have copies on hand. Collect all pay stubs from the past six months to establish your current monthly income-this figure matters because the means test uses your average income over the six calendar months before filing. If you’re self-employed, gather profit and loss statements, business tax returns, and records showing income from all sources.
Next, create a comprehensive list of everything you own and what it’s worth. Document your home’s estimated value using recent property tax assessments or online home valuation tools, then note any outstanding mortgage balance from your loan documents. For vehicles, list the make, model, year, and current market value using resources like Kelley Blue Book, along with any loan payoff amounts. Include bank account statements showing current balances, retirement account statements (401k, IRA), investment accounts, and insurance policies with cash surrender values. Finally, gather every debt document you can find: credit card statements, medical bills, personal loan agreements, and any collection notices. Write down the creditor name, account number, current balance, and monthly payment for each debt. Tennessee exemptions protect up to $11,975 in home equity, $4,000 in vehicle equity, and $4,000 in personal property, so accurate asset values determine what you keep versus what the trustee may liquidate.
Once you’ve organized these materials, you’re ready to move forward with completing the official bankruptcy forms.
2. Complete the Voluntary Petition Form
Form 101, the Official Petition for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy, launches your Chapter 7 case officially. You must provide your full legal name exactly as it appears on government-issued identification, your current address, and your Social Security number. The form asks whether you file individually or jointly with a spouse-this choice affects how income thresholds and exemptions apply to your case. If you marry and file together, both spouses sign the petition, and your combined income determines whether you pass the means test. You must answer questions about prior bankruptcies truthfully; the court will uncover them through the bankruptcy database anyway, and lying under penalty of perjury can result in fraud charges that survive discharge.
You also disclose any pending lawsuits, foreclosures, evictions, or wage garnishments on Form 101, since the automatic stay will immediately stop these actions once your petition reaches the court. The declaration section requires your signature under penalty of perjury, confirming that all information is accurate and complete. Many filers rush through this form and miss critical details, but errors or omissions trigger dismissal or require amended filings that waste time and money. The form asks about your filing status, whether you operate a business, and whether you received credit counseling-all answers must reflect the truth. You attach your credit counseling certificate to the petition before submission, and reviewing Form 101 line by line with your documentation spread out helps catch mistakes before you sign anything. With Form 101 completed and signed, you move forward to the schedules that detail your assets, debts, and income.
3. Complete Schedules A Through J
Schedules A and B form the foundation of your petition by listing every asset you own with its fair market value. Schedule A covers real property like your home, while Schedule B captures personal property including vehicles, bank accounts, retirement accounts, and household items. Pull your most recent property tax assessment for your home’s estimated value, check Kelley Blue Book for vehicle values, and gather bank statements showing current balances as of your filing date. Tennessee exemptions shield up to $11,975 in home equity, $4,000 in vehicle equity, and $4,000 in personal property, so accuracy here determines what you keep and what the trustee may liquidate. Schedule C requires you to claim these exemptions by listing each asset and the specific exemption that protects it under Tennessee law.
Schedules D, E, and F require you to list every debt with creditor names, account numbers, and balances owed, separated into secured debts like mortgages and vehicle loans versus unsecured debts like credit cards and medical bills. Pull your credit report from all three bureaus to catch debts you may have forgotten, and verify each balance against your most recent creditor statements rather than relying on memory. Schedule I shows all sources of household income averaged over the six months before filing (since the means test uses this figure to determine Chapter 7 eligibility), while Schedule J lists your monthly living expenses including rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries, insurance, and transportation costs. The Western District of Tennessee requires these schedules filed together as a complete package, so missing even one triggers rejection and filing delays that cost you additional fees and frustration. With your schedules complete and accurate, you move forward to disclosing your financial history through the Statement of Financial Affairs.
4. Disclose Your Financial History Completely
The Statement of Financial Affairs reveals where your money came from and where it went over the past two years. List all income sources including wages, self-employment earnings, rental income, and any other money that entered your household, broken down by month for the entire 24-month period before filing. Pull your tax returns, pay stubs, and bank statements to reconstruct this timeline accurately because the trustee will verify these numbers against your tax records and employment history. You must also report any payments you made to creditors totaling more than $600 within the 90 days before filing, which helps the trustee identify whether you favored certain creditors over others. If you paid one credit card company while ignoring others, the trustee needs to know this information, and hiding it can result in case dismissal or fraud charges that survive bankruptcy discharge.
Property transfers and closed accounts matter equally on this form because the trustee looks for hidden assets or attempts to conceal property before filing. Document any real estate sales, vehicle transfers, or gifts you made within two years of filing, including the date, recipient, and value transferred. List every bank account, investment account, or safe deposit box you closed during this period, noting when you closed it and what happened to the funds inside. Answer questions about any business you operated or any lawsuits you were involved in, since these factors affect what the trustee may pursue to recover money for creditors. Once you complete this form with full accuracy, you move forward to satisfying the credit counseling requirement, which the court mandates before your case can proceed to the 341 meeting.
5. Complete Your Credit Counseling Before Filing
Federal law requires you to complete credit counseling within 180 days before filing your Chapter 7 petition, and skipping this step triggers automatic dismissal under 11 U.S.C. § 111. You must use an agency on the U.S. Trustee Program’s approved list, and counseling fees cap at $50 unless a higher charge is justified, though households at or below 150% of the poverty level may qualify for a fee waiver or reduction. Well-known approved providers include Cambridge Credit Counseling, GreenPath, and Money Management International, with most offering online sessions that run 60–90 minutes and cost roughly $20–$50 depending on your income. Online counseling dominates due to flexibility, and certificates arrive within 24 hours after completion, which prevents filing delays. Before your session, gather two months of pay stubs, last year’s tax returns, self-employment income documents, debt statements for all creditors, and asset records including home value, vehicle titles, and bank account statements.
During the counseling session, you will receive a thorough budget analysis that compares your income against essential expenses, plus discussion of alternatives to bankruptcy such as debt management, settlements, or budgeting changes. The counselor cannot tell you whether to file bankruptcy, but they will present options and help you weigh the best path for your situation. After completion, verify that the certificate includes your full name, completion date, agency name and approval number, counselor signature, and completion date, with the agency name matching the official USTP list exactly. You should save the certificate both digitally and physically, then provide the original to your attorney at least three business days before filing. When you file with the Western District of Tennessee, attach the certificate as a separate exhibit to your petition-the court will reject your filing if it’s missing or if the agency name doesn’t match the official list precisely. With your counseling certificate in hand, you move forward to calculating your means test, which determines whether your income qualifies you for Chapter 7 relief.
6. Run the Means Test to Confirm Your Eligibility
Form 122A-1 determines whether your income qualifies you for Chapter 7 relief, and this calculation matters because filing without passing the means test can result in case dismissal or conversion to Chapter 13. The means test uses your average monthly income over the six calendar months before filing, which you’ve already documented on Schedule I. Memphis 2025 median income thresholds are $39,759 for a single filer and $93,767 for a family of four, according to the U.S. Trustee Program’s official figures. If your income falls below these thresholds, you pass the means test automatically and proceed to filing without further calculations. Most filers stop here, but about 70% of applicants who initially appear over the income limit still qualify after the full means test analysis, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute, so don’t assume you’re disqualified based on gross income alone.
If your income exceeds the Memphis median, you must complete the full means test on Form 122A-2, which applies allowed expense deductions based on IRS standards and Census Bureau data to determine your disposable income. The form subtracts housing, utilities, food, transportation, and other living expenses from your income using official government multipliers rather than your actual spending, which often results in lower allowed expenses than what you truly spend each month. This calculation determines whether you have disposable income available to fund a Chapter 13 repayment plan, and if the numbers show no disposable income, you still qualify for Chapter 7 despite exceeding the median. Gather your six months of pay stubs, tax returns, and monthly expense records to complete Form 122A-1 and potentially Form 122A-2 accurately. Include both forms with your petition package when filing with the Western District of Tennessee, as the court rejects incomplete means test submissions and delays your case unnecessarily. Once you finalize your means test calculations, you assemble your complete petition package and prepare to file with the court.
7. Assemble Your Petition Package in the Correct Order
Your petition package must follow the exact form sequence required by the Western District of Tennessee or the court will reject it and delay your filing. Start with Form 101 (Voluntary Petition) on top, followed immediately by your credit counseling certificate, then Schedules A through J in numerical order, then the Statement of Financial Affairs, then Forms 122A-1 and 122A-2 (means test), then the Declaration Concerning Your Debtor’s Schedules, and finally any local forms required by the Middle District of Tennessee.
Pull a recent copy of your three-bureau credit report and compare every creditor listed against Schedules D, E, and F to catch debts you may have overlooked or accounts that closed years ago but still appear on your report. Verify that all creditor names, account numbers, and balances match your supporting documentation exactly, since mismatched information triggers trustee inquiries that delay your 341 meeting and create unnecessary complications. Check every date on every form against your actual financial documents, especially income dates on Schedule I and expense dates on Schedule J, because the trustee will cross-reference these against your bank statements and pay stubs.
Run your means test calculations a second time using a different calculator or have someone else verify your math, since arithmetic errors on Forms 122A-1 and 122A-2 can result in case dismissal or unwanted conversion to Chapter 13. Make photocopies of your entire completed petition package before filing and store them in a secure location for your records, as you’ll need these copies to reference during your 341 meeting and for any future disputes about what you disclosed. The total filing fee with the Western District of Tennessee is $338 (consisting of a $245 case filing fee, $75 administrative fee, and $15 trustee surcharge), payable when you file electronically through the court’s NextGen CM/ECF system. If you cannot afford the full fee upfront, file Form 103A to request installment payments, which the court typically allows over three to four months, or file Form 103B to request a complete fee waiver if your household income falls below 150% of the poverty level. Once you submit your complete package electronically, the bankruptcy trustee receives your case within 24 hours and begins reviewing your finances for potential asset liquidation before your 341 meeting.
What Happens Next After You File Your Sample Bankruptcy Petition Chapter 7
Filing your petition with the Western District of Tennessee triggers immediate legal protections that stop creditors cold. The automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362 activates the moment your petition reaches the court, halting collection calls, wage garnishments, foreclosures, and lawsuits against you. Within 24 hours, the bankruptcy trustee assigned to your case begins reviewing your financial documents to identify nonexempt assets that could be liquidated to pay creditors.
Your 341 meeting of creditors occurs 30 to 45 days after filing and typically lasts only 5 to 10 minutes. Bring your photo ID and Social Security card to this meeting, where the trustee will ask questions about your assets, debts, and income based on the information you disclosed in your petition. Missing this meeting or providing inaccurate information results in automatic case dismissal, so treating it seriously matters enormously.
After the 341 meeting, you must complete a debtor education course within approximately 30 days (which costs around $50 and focuses on rebuilding finances after bankruptcy). Once you finish this course, your discharge typically arrives about 60 days later, releasing you from personal liability on discharged debts like credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans. Contact Hurst Law Firm, P.A. today to discuss your situation and learn how we can support you through bankruptcy.
