How To File Bankruptcy for Free in Indiana Without a Lawyer

Collect Your Indiana Bankruptcy Documents

You have to collect a lot of financial documents before you can file bankruptcy. At a minimum, you’ll need your last two years of tax returns, last 60 days of pay stubs, and any statements or online printouts showing your bank account balances on your filing date. Other helpful documents include creditor statements, bills, letters from collection agencies or debt collectors, and bank statements from the last six to 12 months. The bank statements will help you figure out your average monthly living expenses.

In your bankruptcy papers, you need to list the names and addresses of everyone you owe and the amount you owe. This includes:

• Secured debts, like mortgages and car loans.

• Unsecured debts, like credit cards, medical bills, student loans*, and even personal/family loans. 

• Priority unsecured debts, like alimony, child support, and tax debts. Even though priority unsecured debt usually don’t get discharged in bankruptcy, they still have to be included on your forms.

To help you get or double-check the information about all your debts, it’s a good idea to request a copy of your credit report to help you with your bankruptcy paperwork. Just be sure to treat your credit report as extra information since not all debt gets reported to the credit reporting agencies. You can get a free copy of your credit report from each of the three consumer credit reporting agencies every 12 months. Bankruptcy attorneys usually pull your credit for you, and Upsolve pulls a credit report for all filers who use our filing tool.

*A note about student loans: There's a common misconception that you can't get student loans discharged in bankruptcy, but this isn't true. In fact, if you have government student loans, the process for discharging them got easier in late 2022. Private student loans can be trickier to discharge (and often you need to hire a lawyer to help), but it's possible to have your student loans erased through Chapter 7 bankruptcy, along with your other debts.

Take a Credit Counseling Course

You have to complete a credit counseling course within the 180 days before you file. The course is usually offered online or by telephone, and you have to take it from an approved provider. The purpose of this course is to help you look at your financial situation and develop a personalized plan to address your debt. It covers all your debt relief options, including Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

The course fee is usually under $50. When you sign up, you can apply for a fee waiver if you can’t afford the cost. When you get your certificate of completion, it’s critical to send it to the court when you send your bankruptcy petition. The court will dismiss your case if you don’t do this. This rule is very strict, and it causes big problems if you re-file later.

Complete the Bankruptcy Forms

The primary forms in bankruptcy filings are the same nationwide and are available for free as fillable and printable PDFs from USCOURTS.gov. 

If you hire a bankruptcy attorney, you’ll usually complete a bankruptcy questionnaire written by the attorney. Then the attorney or their staff uses your responses to complete the bankruptcy forms, usually with special software. If you use Upsolve’s filing tool, you’ll complete an online questionnaire and Upsolve’s software will use your information to fill in the bankruptcy forms.

Get Your Filing Fee

You have to pay a $338 filing fee to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. When you file your petition, you can also apply to have the filing fee waived if you can’t afford it. To qualify, your income must be less than 150% of Indiana’s poverty guidelines (see the table for Indiana Fee Waiver Eligibility below). If the court denies your waiver request, you can apply to pay the filing fee in four installments. This can be helpful if you’re in a tight financial spot and need the automatic stay to start right away, like if your paychecks are being garnished. There’s no minimum first installment amount, but the court must approve the payment plan and can reject an unreasonable plan.

The court can dismiss your case if you don’t make the installments plans as agreed, and you won’t be refunded. That’s why it’s usually best to wait to file until you can pay the filing fee in full, if possible. That way, you don’t risk getting your case dismissed for nonpayment.

Print Your Bankruptcy Forms

You’ll need to print your completed bankruptcy forms in black ink on white letter-size paper. Print only on one side since the court won’t accept double-sided documents. Print out every required form, and sign every signature line. If you hire an attorney, you’ll probably sign your forms in their office and the attorney will electronically file your case. Upsolve users get their forms in a downloadable packet, with markers showing where to sign.

File Your Forms With the Indiana Bankruptcy Court

Indiana’s Bankruptcy Court is divided into two districts: the Northern District and the Southern District. Each has its own guidelines for bankruptcy filers. Only attorneys can file bankruptcies electronically in the Northern District. But the Southern District has an Electronic Self-Representation (eSR) filing system for individuals filing without an attorney, also called pro se filers. Depending on which district you’re filing in, you may be able to file by mail, in person, or by drop box. See more information below.

Mail Documents to Your Trustee

The court will assign a bankruptcy trustee to your Chapter 7 case and will quickly schedule a meeting of creditors (also called the 341 meeting — more on this below). Because you’ll need to send your trustee certain documents at least seven days before the 341 meeting, it’s a good idea to contact your trustee right after you file to ask what documents are needed. Many trustees send letters telling you this information, but it never hurts to be proactive.

The Southern District of Indiana has adopted the Chapter 7 Uniform Document Production List, which requires that you send the following documents to your trustee seven days before the 341 meeting:

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

• Your most recent paystubs.

• If you’re married, your spouse’s income information (even if you’re filing by yourself).

• The last three monthly statements for all financial accounts, including bank statements, investment account statements, and retirement account statements.

• Proof of certain expenses, including private school tuition, education, and extra home heating.

• Copies of any complaints, judgments, or property settlement agreements.

• Divorce decree and/or property settlement if divorced within the last three years.

• Copies of deeds and mortgages.

• Appraisal or property tax assessment for real estate.

• Information about domestic support obligations.

The Northern District of Indiana hasn’t adopted these requirements, so you should call your assigned trustee to get a list of required documents.

Take a Debtor Education Course

Bankruptcy law requires that you take a second required bankruptcy course — a financial management course — after you file. The purpose of this course is to help you successfully manage your finances after bankruptcy. You must send your course certificate of completion to the court within 60 days of your 341 meeting. If you fail to do this, your debts won’t be discharged. This financial management course, just like the first credit counseling course, has to be from a state-approved provider.

Attend Your 341 Meeting

The 341 meeting is also called the meeting of creditors. It includes you, your trustee, and any creditors who wish to attend. That said, creditors don’t typically attend, especially in simple cases. At the meeting, the trustee confirms who you are, looks at your bankruptcy papers, and asks you questions about your case. If a creditor is present, the creditor will ask you questions, too.

Your 341 meeting may be held via phone, video conference, or in person You'll get a court notice explaining when and how to attend.

Indiana bankruptcy courts don’t specify documents that you’ll have to bring to your 341 meeting. At the very least, you should plan on bringing your photo identification, some proof of your Social Security number (usually just your Social Security card), your pay stubs from the 60 days before you filed, and all financial statements covering your filing date. It’s a good idea to call your trustee’s office ahead of time to see if you need to bring any additional documents.

Sometimes the trustee decides that you need to provide more documentation. If that happens, they’ll probably just reschedule your 341 meeting to a later date. But if your paperwork is in order and your case is simple, the trustee will probably dismiss you after asking a few questions. Most Chapter 7 cases are no-asset cases, so the meetings move pretty quickly

Deal With Your Car

You can usually keep your car through a bankruptcy if you can protect your equity in it with bankruptcy exemptions. Indiana doesn't have a specific motor vehicle exemption, but you can use the state’s $12,100 wildcard exemption to protect your car and other personal property.

If you file Chapter 7 and you want to keep a vehicle with an outstanding car loan, you have to be current on your monthly payments. You may need to sign a reaffirmation agreement for the lender, which re-commits you to the loan. If you’re behind on the loan or you can’t afford the monthly payments, it may make sense to surrender the car to the lender. When you surrender a car during bankruptcy, you aren’t responsible for the loan anymore. After your bankruptcy case is finished, you can buy a more affordable vehicle.

If you’re behind on your car payments and want to keep your car, you’ll want to get legal advice from a bankruptcy attorney about Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Chapter 13 is a type of bankruptcy that allows the filer to repay their debt through the court on a structured repayment plan. Chapter 13 plan can help when you’re facing home foreclosure or vehicle repossession because it allows you to catch up on past-due secured debt payments. 

If you’re leasing a car, you’ll list the lease on a different bankruptcy form. You can choose to keep the lease or you can choose to end it based on what works best for you.