Chapter 7petition reviewchecklist.

Why petition review matters

The petition and schedules are signed under penalty of perjury, and the attorney's signature carries its own certification. Under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(4), signing the petition certifies that the attorney performed a reasonable investigation and has no knowledge, after an inquiry, that the information in the schedules is incorrect. Errors lead to amended schedules, questions from the trustee at the meeting of creditors, objections, and in serious cases, dismissal or denial of discharge.

The checklist below is general information for law firm staff and is not legal advice. Local rules and trustee practices vary by district.

Before you start

• Credit counseling. Confirm the certificate is from an approved agency and dated within 180 days before filing, as required by 11 U.S.C. § 109(h).
• Venue. Confirm the district based on the debtor's domicile, residence, principal place of business or principal assets during the 180 days before filing.
• Prior cases. Search PACER for prior filings by the debtor and spouse. A Chapter 7 discharge in a case filed within the previous eight years bars a new Chapter 7 discharge, and recent dismissals can affect the automatic stay.
• Documents. Collect pay records, tax returns, bank statements, vehicle titles, loan statements and recent credit reports before drafting, not after.

Voluntary petition (Official Form 101)

• All names used in the last eight years, including maiden names and business names.
• Addresses that match identification and the venue analysis.
• Prior and pending bankruptcy cases, including those of a spouse, partner or affiliate.
• The correct chapter, the nature of the debts, and the fee payment method.

Assets and exemptions (Schedules A/B and C)

• Bank accounts. Every account listed with balances that match the statements on the filing date.
• Vehicles and real property. Values supported by a consistent source, with liens that match Schedule D.
• Easily missed assets. Expected tax refunds, wages earned but not paid, security deposits, retirement accounts, life insurance cash value, business interests, digital assets and claims against others, including pending lawsuits.
• Exemption system. Confirm whether federal or state exemptions apply. The domicile rule in 11 U.S.C. § 522(b)(3)(A) looks back 730 days, so a recent move can change which state's exemptions are available.
• Exemption amounts. Each claimed exemption cites the right statute, stays within its limit, and matches the asset value on Schedule A/B.

Creditors and contracts (Schedules D, E/F, G and H)

• Secured, priority and nonpriority debts in the correct schedule. Taxes and domestic support obligations are commonly misclassified.
• Complete mailing addresses and account numbers, including collection agencies and attorneys for creditors.
• Leases and executory contracts on Schedule G, and codebtors on Schedule H.
• Totals that match the summary of schedules.

Income, expenses and the means test

• Schedules I and J. Income that matches pay records and expenses that are reasonable for the household size. A large gap between Schedule I income and means test income should be explainable.
• Means test (Official Form 122A series). Current monthly income is the average of the six full calendar months before filing. Compare it with the state median for the household size, and complete the full calculation where the debtor is above median.
• Household size. Use a consistent household size across Schedule J and the means test.

Statement of Financial Affairs (Official Form 107)

• Payments to creditors in the 90 days before filing that total $600 or more, for individual debtors with primarily consumer debts.
• Payments to or for the benefit of insiders, such as relatives, in the year before filing.
• Transfers of property outside the ordinary course in the two years before filing.
• Lawsuits, garnishments, repossessions and closed financial accounts in the year before filing.
• Income from employment and other sources for the current year and the two previous years, matching tax returns.

Transfers and insider payments deserve attention because a trustee may seek to recover them as preferences or fraudulent transfers.

Final consistency pass

• The same figures appear the same way everywhere: asset values, debts, income and household size.
• The Statement of Intention (Official Form 108) addresses every secured debt and lease.
• The Statement About Your Social Security Numbers (Official Form 121) is complete and handled under the court's privacy rules.
• The debtor has reviewed every page and signed, and the attorney has reviewed the final version that will be filed.

Where software helps

Most of this checklist is comparison work: the same number in three places, a bank statement against a schedule, a date against a deadline. That is where software is most useful, because it does not tire on the fortieth comparison. PGBK AI, in development at ProofGuard AI, is built to run these cross checks on Chapter 7, Chapter 13 and Subchapter V matters and list the issues for attorney review before filing. Request early access.

More resources

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