Filing the Chapter 12 Petition

A chapter 12 case begins by filing a petition with the bankruptcy court serving the area where the individual lives or where the corporation or partnership debtor has its principal place of business or principal assets. Unless the court orders otherwise, the debtor also shall file with the court:

1. Schedules of assets and liabilities,
2. A schedule of current income and expenditures,
3. A schedule of executory contracts and unexpired leases, and
4. A statement of financial affairs.

A husband and wife may file a joint petition or individual petitions. (The Official Forms may be purchased at legal stationery stores or downloaded from the internet at http://www.uscourts.gov/bkforms/index.html.

Required Information

In order to complete the Official Bankruptcy Forms which make up the petition, statement of financial affairs, and schedules, the debtor will need to compile the following information:

1. A list of all creditors and the amounts and nature of their claims;
2. The source, amount, and frequency of the debtor's income;
3. A list of all of the debtor's property; and
4. A detailed list of the debtor's monthly farming and living expenses, i.e., food, shelter, utilities, taxes, transportation, medicine, feed, fertilizer, etc.

Married individuals must gather this information for each spouse regardless of whether they are filing a joint petition, separate individual petitions, or even if only one spouse is filing. In a situation where only one spouse files, the income and expenses of the non-filing spouse is required so that the court, the trustee, and the creditors can evaluate the household's financial position.