Complete Bankruptcy Filing

• A complete bankruptcy filing requires you to have numerous bankruptcy schedules, as well as the financial records to complete them. When you file an emergency bankruptcy case, you may not have time to gather all of the materials needed to complete this information. Therefore, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western Division of Texas, located in Waco, Texas, allows you to file with only a small portion of these requirements.
  
  

Emergency Bankruptcy Forms

• To initiate an emergency bankruptcy case, you must file a three-page petition, a certificate of credit counseling, a Social Security number and a creditor matrix. You must file Official Form 1, the Voluntary Bankruptcy petition. Official Form 21, the Statement of Social Security Number(s), requires that you provide your Social Security number to the Waco, Texas, bankruptcy court. If you do not have a Social Security number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification number, check the box denoting that fact. You must also disclose the Social Security number of any joint debtor. Provide the bankruptcy court with your certificate of credit counseling and voluntary petition Exhibit D.
  
  

Creditor Matrix

• You must also file a creditor matrix with the Waco, Texas, bankruptcy court. The creditor matrix includes the names and mailing addresses of all your creditors. The Waco, Texas, bankruptcy court requires that the creditor matrix be completed in a specific format. It is of extreme importance that you correctly complete the creditor matrix, because the bankruptcy court uses the creditor matrix to contact your creditors. The bankruptcy court informs your creditors that you have filed for bankruptcy, and that they must stop all collection actions against you.
  
  

Automatic Stay

• A provision known as the automatic stay has the effect of stopping all of your creditors from contacting you. The automatic stay requires that harassment by creditors, all collection efforts and foreclosure actions immediately stop when you file your bankruptcy petition. The automatic stay effectively allows you to attempt a debt repayment plan, or be relieved of the financial pressure that placed you in this predicament. A bankruptcy trustee will handle your creditors once you have filed your petition.