Our final discussion on the Bankruptcy Petition and schedules looks mostly at income, expenses, and an overview of your financial affairs. This would complete a petition, in conjunction with the schedules covering real and personal property and secured and unsecured debt.
Schedule G
This schedule is used to list all of your co-debtors that aren't also filing. For instance, if you had cosigned on a car loan with a family member, like a parent or sibling, you would list that here. This schedule is not for listing your filing spouse as a codebtor.
Schedule H
Schedule H handles all executory contracts and ongoing leases. Executory contracts are those that are either still ongoing or have not yet been fully performed. Be sure to list accurate information for each.
Schedule I
Here, you list your current monthly income. You will list whether you are married, where you are employed, and what kids you have. All of your monthly income will be listed on this schedule, regardless of where the income is derived from.
Schedule J
Schedule J lists all of your monthly expenses. You provide the amounts that you spend on nearly everything each month, going line by line to ensure that accurate figures are listed. Working with your attorney on this schedule is important, considering the amount of disposable income you have each month is critical to which Chapter you file under the Bankruptcy Code.
Statement of Financial Affairs
This schedule provides sort of an overview of your financial situation. You will list your year to date income, income for both you and your filing spouse (if any) from the previous two years, and any payments that you've made to inside creditors in the past year. You will also list any lawsuits you're involved in, any garnishments or attachments from creditors, or any respossessions and foreclosures. If you made any gifts to charity or lost anything due to fire, theft, gambling, or other casualty, you will list it here. If there are any transfers of property within the year prior to filing your case, you will also list it here, as well as any closed financial accounts. Any property that is being held for someone else must be listed on this portion of the petition, as well as any prior addresses from the past three years.
Ensuring that your schedules are true, honest, accurate, and correct is the biggest key to success in your bankruptcy case. They can often be more complex and difficult than mentioned here, so it is best to consult your bankruptcy attorney to make sure that they are as accurate as possible and ready for filing.
