How To File Bankruptcy for Free in Illinois

Collect Your Illinois Bankruptcy Documents

The first task you’ll have to tackle before you can file bankruptcy is collecting financial documents required by the Bankruptcy Code. At a minimum, you’ll need:

• Your last two years of filed tax returns, 

• Your last 60 days of pay stubs, and 

• Any statements that show your current bank account balances. 

You’ll need to list the names and addresses of everyone you owe and the amount you owe to each of them. You’ll include:

• Your secured debts like mortgages and car loans

• Your unsecured debts, including credit card debt, medical bills, student loans, and personal/family loans

• Priority unsecured debts like alimony, child support, and tax debts

To get this information, it’s helpful to gather any creditor statements, bills, collection agency/debt collector letters, and bank statements from the previous six to 12 months. Getting a current copy of your credit report can also help you double-check this information. You can’t rely on a credit report to list every debt, but it’s still helpful as a source of extra information. You’re entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each of the three consumer credit reporting agencies every 12 months. If you hire a bankruptcy attorney or use Upsolve’s filing tool for your Chapter 7 case, you’ll have a credit report pulled for you.

Take a Credit Counseling Course

Bankruptcy law requires that you take and complete an approved credit counseling course in the 180 days before you file bankruptcy. In the course, you’ll learn about all your debt relief options. The U.S Trustee lists approved providers for the Central District, the Northern District, and the Southern District. Most credit counseling courses can be taken online or by telephone.

Most course providers charge a small fee, up to $50. If you can’t afford the fee, ask the provider if you’re eligible for a fee waiver. You must include a course certificate of completion when you submit your bankruptcy petition with the court.

Complete the Bankruptcy Forms

The main forms used in bankruptcy filings are the same across the county and can be found for free on USCOURTS.gov. 

You can also access the forms from the state. In Illinois, there are three district bankruptcy courts: the Northern District, Central District, and Southern District. The Northern District provides a basic filing packet and an additional documents packet for Chapter 7 pro se filers. Pro se means you’re filing without an attorney. The Central District provides a list of forms required in Chapter 7 filings. 

Bankruptcy attorneys commonly design their own questionnaires for their clients, and then they use the client responses to complete the bankruptcy forms using special bankruptcy software. If you use Upsolve’s free filing tool, you’ll complete an online questionnaire. Then, Upsolve’s software uses your information to fill out your bankruptcy forms.

Get Your Filing Fee

There’s a $338 filing fee to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If your income is less than 150% of the federal poverty guidelines (see the table for Illinois Fee Waiver Eligibility below), you’re eligible to apply for a filing fee waiver. The court may hold a waiver hearing. If the court denies your waiver request, you can apply to pay the filing fee in installments.

An installment payment plan may be a good option if you’re in a hurry to file but you don’t have the full filing fee. For example, if you’re facing wage garnishment, you may want to file quickly to get protection from the automatic stay. This stops all collections, including wage garnishment, as soon as you file your bankruptcy petition.

If you’re able, it’s usually best to wait to file until you can pay the entire filing fee. This is because the court can dismiss your case if you miss one of your installment payments. You won’t be entitled to a refund if the court dismisses your case before you’ve finished with your installments.

Print Your Bankruptcy Forms

Before you can submit your bankruptcy forms to the court, you first need to print them. Print using black ink on white letter-size paper. Also, print the forms one-sided because the court will reject double-sided pages. Because there are so many forms in a bankruptcy filing, you may find it helpful to print out your forms by section. If you do that, you’ll need to be especially careful that you print out each and every form that’s required. 

Finally, slowly go through and sign on every signature line. A bankruptcy attorney will typically have you sign your forms in their office during a signing meeting. Then they’ll electronically file your case using digital versions of the documents. Upsolve users will receive their packet of forms in a downloadable file, with markers showing where to sign.

File Your Forms With the Illinois Bankruptcy Court

Your filing options in Illinois depend a lot on where you live. The Northern District, Southern District, and Central District each have very different rules for people filing bankruptcy without an attorney. You can find district-specific information below. 

Keep in mind that delivery options may change because of COVID-19. Be sure to check the court’s website or call the clerk to confirm your filing options.

Mail Documents to Your Trustee

After you file your forms and open your Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, the court will assign a bankruptcy trustee and schedule your meeting of creditors (also called a 341 meeting). You’ll need to send your trustee certain documents at least seven days before the 341 meeting. Many trustees send out a letter detailing their document requests, but you can be proactive and contact them to ensure you meet the deadline. 

In Illinois, the required documents vary by district. The Northern District requires that you send the following documents to the trustee at least seven days before the 341 meeting:

• Your most recent year’s tax return,

• Proof of filing tax returns for the past four years, and

• Copies of all pay stubs or other evidence of payment received in the 60 days before filing your petition. 

The Southern District of Illinois requires that you send the following documents to your trustee at least seven days before the 341 meeting:

• Your most recently filed tax return, including W-2s, and

• All paystubs you received in the 60 days before filing.

The Central District doesn’t specify the documents needed by the trustee before the 341 meeting. You should call your assigned trustee as soon as possible to ask.

Take a Debtor Education Course

After filing, you need to complete your second required bankruptcy course — a financial management course. You can take this course any time after filing. Many people take this course before the 341 meeting just to get it out of the way. You need to submit the certificate of completion to the court within 60 days of your 341 meeting. If you miss that deadline, your debts won’t be eligible for discharge. You must take the course from a provider that’s approved in Illinois.

Attend Your 341 Meeting

The 341 meeting is also called the meeting of creditors. It’s simply a meeting that includes you, your trustee, and any creditors who want to attend. Usually, creditors don’t come, especially in simple cases. 

During the meeting, the trustee will first confirm your identity. All three Illinois Districts require filers to bring photo identification and a Social Security card to the 341 meeting. Then the trustee will review your bankruptcy papers and ask you some questions. If a creditor is there, the creditor is allowed to ask you questions, too. 

Most Chapter 7 cases are no-asset cases, which make for pretty quick 341 meetings. The trustee may dismiss you after asking only a few questions. Sometimes, though, the trustee will decide that you need to provide more documentation. If that happens, they’ll probably just reschedule your 341 meeting to a later date.

All 341 meetings in Illinois are currently held by phone because of COVID-19, but this may change in the future.

Dealing with Your Car

You can keep your car through bankruptcy if you can cover its value with your bankruptcy exemptions. On your paperwork, you’ll need to list your car’s fair market value, the balance of any loans you owe on it, and your equity. If you lease a car, you’ll need to list the lease in a different part of your bankruptcy papers, since leases are treated differently than owned property in bankruptcy.

You can keep a financed vehicle through a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, but you have to be current on the loan. Also, the lender may require that you sign a reaffirmation agreement that re-commits you to the loan after the bankruptcy. Sometimes, especially if the monthly payments are high, it makes sense to just get rid of the car. Bankruptcy is a great time to do that because surrendering a vehicle during bankruptcy lets you off the hook for the entire loan. This puts you in a far better position to buy a more affordable car after your bankruptcy is finished.

Often, people want to keep their car but they’re behind on their car payments. If that applies to you, Chapter 7 might not be the right decision. Instead, you may want to speak with a qualified bankruptcy attorney about Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 are both commonly used by consumers. But Chapter 13 is a type of bankruptcy that allows people with regular income to repay their debt through a court-structured repayment plan. Chapter 13 protection is often used by people facing home foreclosure or vehicle repossession. It allows them to catch up on past-due secured debt payments through the Chapter 13 plan.