What Happens When You File for Bankruptcy?

Once you decide to file bankruptcy, you just want it to be over. It’s not easy when creditors are breathing down your neck, and you’re worried about the bank repossessing your car. The good news is that bankruptcy will give you the fresh start you need. However, depending on which chapter you file, it can take anywhere from four months to five years to complete your bankruptcy case.

Generally, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case takes about four to six months to complete. Of course, some cases take longer than others, depending on how complex the person’s financial situation is. Even in cases involving tremendous debts and assets, a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy shouldn’t take more than six months.

If you’re contemplating filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, it will take a lot longer to resolve your case. This is because your Chapter 13 repayment plan will take three to five years, regardless of how simple or complicated your case may be.

Here, we will explain how the bankruptcy timeline works for both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. We will also discuss things that can delay your bankruptcy discharge and what you can do to avoid these delays.

If you’re thinking of filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy case, you should contact an experienced bankruptcy attorney right away. They’ll help you file your bankruptcy petition and ensure that the trustee treats you fairly.

Bankruptcy Timeline Overview

The length of time it takes to complete your bankruptcy case depends on the type of bankruptcy you file. Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases generally take a lot less time than a Chapter 13 case. In fact, there’s a good chance you may receive your bankruptcy discharge in less than six months.

A Chapter 13 bankruptcy, on the other hand, takes anywhere from three to five years. The process starts once you file your case.

The reason a Chapter 13 takes so much longer to complete is that you must finish your repayment plan before the court can discharge your case. Depending on your income and how much you owe your creditors, the trustee will approve a payment plan of three to five years.

The general rule is: if you earn less than your state’s median income level, the trustee will approve a three-year repayment plan. If your income falls above the median household income, the court will require a five-year repayment plan.

The reason for the longer Chapter 13 plan is that people who earn more than the average family should contribute more toward their debts than someone who earns less than the state median income.

Before You File Your Bankruptcy Case

Before you file your bankruptcy petition, you must first determine which type of bankruptcy you plan to file. This decision will come down to your income, the types of debts you owe, and the amount of your total debt.

To file a Chapter 7, you must pass something called the “Means Test.” This test requires that you demonstrate to the court that you earn less than your state’s median household income. If you pass this test, you can submit your Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition.

If you earn more than the median income, you can still file a Chapter 7. However, you must show that your disposable income is less than that amount. Your disposable income is what you have left once you subtract your basic household bills.

To qualify for a Chapter 13, your income is not that important. However, you must submit financial documents showing that your unsecured and secured debts are less than the maximum limits. As of 2026, the maximum amount of unsecured debt you can have to qualify for Chapter 13 is $526,700, and you cannot have more than $1,580,125 of secured debt.

If you owe less than these amounts, you should have no problem filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case. The only other requirement is that you have sufficient regular income to afford a reasonable monthly payment plan.

You Must Attend Mandatory Credit Counseling

Before you file either type of bankruptcy, you must attend a credit counseling course from an approved provider. When you submit your bankruptcy petition, you must attach a copy of your Certificate of Completion.

To count toward your bankruptcy filing, you must complete your credit counseling course within 180 days of the filing date. If it has been longer than 180 days, you must retake the course and secure a new certificate.

Gathering the Necessary Documentation

Before you submit your petition to the bankruptcy court, you must gather all the necessary documentation. Regardless of the type of bankruptcy you choose, you must provide the trustee with certain documents.

There is a significant amount of information you must provide with your bankruptcy petition, including but not limited to the following:

• Personal information, including employment information
• Six months’ worth of pay stubs
• Tax returns for the past two years
• Bank account and investment account statements
• Real estate deeds, titles, and recent appraisals
• Vehicle title and registration
• Insurance policy information

You must also provide information regarding your assets, such as:

• List of household items (by category)
• Value of any personal property
• Retirement accounts

Finally, you must provide the Chapter 7 trustee (or Chapter 13 trustee) with the following:

• List of secured debts (mortgage, car loan, etc.)
• List of unsecured debts (credit card bills, medical bills, etc.)
• List of priority debts (child support, recent tax debts, etc.)
• Contact information for your creditors
• Monthly expenses
• Any recent large purchases or property transfers

One of the reasons so many debtors hire a bankruptcy attorney to help with their case is because the bankruptcy process can be overwhelming. Just gathering the above information can be intimidating and time-consuming. Plus, if you fail to submit any of the required information, the court may dismiss your case. If that happens, you’ll have to refile with a new filing fee.

Statement of Intention

If you’re filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, you must also submit something called a “Statement of Intention.” This is where you indicate whether you intend to keep any of your assets or personal property, such as your house, car, or boat.

You must also indicate on this form if you plan on claiming any state or federal bankruptcy exemptions. If you fail to do this, you may not be allowed to amend your petition later. This could cause you to lose your property to a forced sale by the trustee.

Filing Your Bankruptcy Petition

When you first submit your bankruptcy petition to the court, you must also pay the requisite filing fee. The 2026 filing fee for a Chapter 7 is $338. For a Chapter 13, the fee is $313. If you don’t submit the fee with your papers, the court will not process your petition.

If you cannot afford the filing fee, you can request a fee waiver. You can also ask the court if you can pay the fee in installments. The maximum number of installments the court will allow is four.

Once the court receives your bankruptcy petition and supplemental forms, the court clerk will assign you a case number. They will also assign a trustee to your case.

Automatic Stay

As soon as the court accepts your bankruptcy filing, the “Automatic Stay” will kick in. The automatic stay is a court order preventing your creditors from taking any collection action against you during bankruptcy proceedings.

Some of the actions the automatic stay prohibits include:

• Foreclosure
• Repossession
• Wage garnishment
• Bank account levy
• Sheriff’s sale of real or personal property

It is worth noting that the automatic stay does not prevent the family courts from collecting child support or spousal support/alimony. All domestic support obligations are exempt from the power of the automatic stay.

30-40 Days After Filing Bankruptcy

In the month or so after you file for bankruptcy, several things will happen. If you file a Chapter 13 case, the trustee will likely communicate with your bankruptcy lawyer about any additional information they need. For example, if you did not provide a recent appraisal on your primary residence, the trustee may demand that you have one done and provide a copy to the court.

Aside from this, you should expect to attend the first “Meeting of Creditors.”

341 Hearing: Meeting of Creditors

This meeting, which is known as the 341 hearing, is where the trustee and your creditors have a chance to question you about your debts, assets, income, and ability to pay.

It is also at this meeting that your creditors have the chance to make any objections to either your Chapter 13 plan or their debt being dischargeable by the court. For example, if you took a credit card out four months before filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy and ran up over $10,000 in a matter of days, the credit card company will likely object to the discharge of this debt.

The good news is that the Meeting of Creditors typically only lasts about five to ten minutes. By this point in your bankruptcy proceedings, the other parties have had a chance to review your paperwork and demand any additional documentation they need.

In many cases, creditors don’t wait until the 341 hearing to object to your plan or discharge. They may contact the trustee or your bankruptcy lawyer before the hearing to discuss a possible settlement or other resolution. For example, they may agree to let you reaffirm the debt (agree to pay it outside of bankruptcy.)

After the Meeting of Creditors Is Over

After the 341 hearing is over, creditors have 60 days to file their objections. During this time, the trustee will evaluate your testimony at the meeting and look at your financial documents in detail. If need be, they will ask your attorney for additional information.

Once the 60 days pass, the court will grant your Chapter 7 discharge. If you filed a Chapter 13, you will continue making your payments until the plan is complete. Once you make your final payment, the court will issue your discharge.

Before the court will issue a discharge, you must attend a mandatory debtor education course and provide proof of completion to your trustee. Without this certificate, the court will not approve your Chapter 13 plan or issue your discharge.

60-90 Days After Filing Your Bankruptcy

In a Chapter 7 case, it is around this time when the court will issue your bankruptcy discharge. This can happen anytime in the 60-90 days after your Meeting of Creditors is complete. The discharge is a court order stating that the discharged debt is no longer open or active, nor is there a balance owed.

This order prohibits creditors from attempting to collect the debt. It also requires creditors and credit reporting agencies to change the status of your account to “Discharged in Bankruptcy.”

In most Chapter 7 cases, the court will discharge the following types of debts:

• Credit card debt
• Personal loans
• Medical bills
• Payday loans
• Utility bills
• Past-due rent
• Other unsecured consumer credit accounts

There are certain debts that are not dischargeable in bankruptcy, regardless of the Chapter you file. Some of these are:

• Student loans
• Recent tax debts (within two years of your filing date)
• Criminal restitution
• Money owed on a civil judgment for a case involving DUI
• Fines or debts arising out of fraud or other criminal activity

Overall, from the date you file your petition to the date the court issues your Chapter 7 discharge, your case should take about five or six months. There are some things that can delay your bankruptcy proceedings. For example, if you don’t take your debtor education course, the court will not grant your discharge.

You can also delay proceedings by not submitting necessary paperwork to the court or failing to attend your 341 hearing. This is why having an experienced bankruptcy lawyer is a good idea. They’ll make sure you don’t do things that may cause an undue delay in your discharge.

Chapter 13 Timeline: 3-5 Year Payment Plan

You file your Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition the same way you file a Chapter 7 petition. Like a Chapter 7 filer, you will have to attend the Meeting of Creditors. The trustee and creditors will ask you questions similar to someone in a Chapter 7 case.

The key difference in a Chapter 13 case is that, in the month or two following your bankruptcy filing, the court will not issue a discharge. Instead, it will confirm your Chapter 13 repayment plan. Once you file the plan, you will start making your monthly payments within 30 days to the trustee.

The trustee will distribute the money to your creditors and, once you complete your payments, do a final accounting. After this is complete, the court will wait to receive proof that you completed the debtor education class. Once it receives this, the court will issue your final discharge as well.

How Long Will It Take for My Credit to Recover?

One question many debtors have is, “How long will it take for me to fix my credit?” It’s only natural to want to know when your credit will start to recover after a bankruptcy. The answer to this question is that it depends.

If you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, the court should issue your discharge within five to six months from the date of filing. At this time, your credit report will update your accounts to show that they were discharged in bankruptcy.

Creditors and potential lenders will see this. Naturally, they will be reluctant to issue credit to someone who just filed for bankruptcy. However, over time, this will change. You will have to first accept credit cards with higher interest rates, low spending limits, and higher fees. You may even have to accept a few secured credit cards to get things moving in the right direction.

After one or two years have passed, you should be able to qualify for a mortgage and car loan. Of course, this also depends on whether you have a steady income and whether you paid your new debts on time each month.

After a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you may see your credit start to recover quickly. Creditors like to see that a consumer made all of their payments under a Chapter 13 repayment plan. You may be able to get new loans and credit cards within six to nine months after completing your Chapter 13 plan.

The point is that bankruptcy will set you back, credit-wise. It would be untrue to pretend otherwise. However, it is not the end of the world. You will start to rebuild your credit gradually. If you continue to pay your bills on time, you may see your credit improve faster than you think.

Consult a Local Bankruptcy Lawyer Before You File Your Petition

If you’re considering a Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy, it’s a good idea to consult an experienced bankruptcy attorney. Your lawyer will review your financial situation and let you know if you qualify for bankruptcy. They’ll also stand by you throughout the bankruptcy proceedings.