How to file bankruptcy in Philadelphia & South Jersey: a step-by-step guide
TL;DR
Filing bankruptcy in Philadelphia & South Jersey runs through seven steps: a free consultation to pick the chapter, a required credit counseling course under § 109(h), document gathering, the petition filing, the § 341 meeting of creditors, the debtor education course, and the discharge order. A typical Chapter 7 closes in four to six months. A Chapter 13 runs three to five years through plan completion.
Filing bankruptcy is more procedural than dramatic. The U.S. Bankruptcy Code lays out a clear sequence of steps: a credit counseling course, a petition and schedules, a meeting of creditors, a debtor education course, and a discharge order. For a Philadelphia or South Jersey filer, the courts that handle the work are the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (E.D. Pa.) and the District of New Jersey, Camden vicinage. Here is what each step is, what it requires, and how long the whole thing takes.
Most of the work happens before you file the petition. The filing itself takes minutes. The real preparation is gathering documents, running the means test math, and confirming what the federal exemptions will protect.
Where Philadelphia & South Jersey cases file
Philadelphia consumer cases file with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The Eastern District covers Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. The court sits in Philadelphia.
South Jersey cases file with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, Camden vicinage. The Camden vicinage handles cases from Camden, Burlington, Gloucester, Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, and Salem counties. Ocean County matters go to Trenton. South Jersey filers commonly work with firms anchored in Cherry Hill, NJ, with cases filed electronically with the Camden court.
Step 1: free consultation and chapter choice
The first step is a free consultation with a bankruptcy lawyer to decide whether to file at all and, if so, which chapter to file. Most consumer filers end up in Chapter 7 bankruptcy (liquidation, discharge in four to six months) or Chapter 13 bankruptcy (three- to five-year payment plan). The choice turns on the § 707(b) means test, the debt mix, and whether you need to keep a home or vehicle the federal exemptions cannot fully protect.
The lawyer also walks through alternatives. Negotiating with creditors, settling a single problem debt, or filing only after a foreclosure date is set are all possibilities depending on the situation. The right answer is sometimes “not yet.”
Step 2: complete the required credit counseling course
Under 11 U.S.C. § 109(h), every individual debtor has to complete a credit counseling course from a U.S. Trustee-approved provider within 180 days before filing. The course runs about one hour and costs a small fee. Most providers run it online or by phone. Your lawyer can recommend approved providers active in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The course covers basic financial topics and produces a certificate that your lawyer files with the petition. Without the certificate, the court cannot accept the case for filing.
Step 3: gather documents and complete the schedules
The bulk of the pre-filing work is documentation. Under 11 U.S.C. § 521, the debtor has to file a petition, schedules of assets and liabilities, a statement of financial affairs, a schedule of current income and expenditures, and a means test calculation. The schedules describe everything the filer owns, owes, earns, and spends.
The documents your lawyer will ask for:
- Pay stubs for the last 60 days
- Federal and state tax returns for the last two years
- Bank statements for the last few months
- A list of every debt with the most recent statements (credit cards, medical bills, loans, judgments)
- Mortgage and car loan balances and monthly payment amounts
- A picture of monthly household income and expenses
- Recent retirement account statements (401(k), IRA, pension)
- Property tax assessments or recent home appraisals if you own real estate
This is also when your lawyer runs the means test math against the U.S. Trustee’s current Pennsylvania or New Jersey median income figures and confirms which federal exemptions will protect your specific assets.
Step 4: file the petition with the court
Once the schedules are complete and the credit counseling certificate is in hand, the lawyer files the petition electronically with the court. The court issues a case number the moment your lawyer files the petition, and the automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362 takes effect immediately. Creditors cannot collect, garnish, sue, or contact the debtor about the listed debts from that point forward.
The court collects the filing fee at this stage. The Chapter 7 filing fee is $338 and the Chapter 13 filing fee is $313, set by the Judicial Conference under 28 U.S.C. § 1930. The court mails formal notice of the case to every creditor on the schedules within a few days.
Step 5: the § 341 meeting of creditors
Roughly four to six weeks after filing, the Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 trustee holds a meeting of creditors under 11 U.S.C. § 341. The debtor attends under oath and answers questions about the schedules. Despite the name, creditors rarely show up at consumer § 341 meetings. The trustee runs the questioning, which usually takes ten or fifteen minutes per case.
Both the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the District of New Jersey hold consumer § 341 meetings by phone or video conference. The debtor calls in from anywhere, identifies themselves, answers questions, and the meeting closes. There is no need to come to a courthouse.
Step 6: complete the debtor education course
After the § 341 meeting, the debtor has to complete a second required course: the debtor education course, also called the financial management course. The course is required for a Chapter 7 discharge under 11 U.S.C. § 727(a)(11) and for a Chapter 13 discharge under § 1328(g). Like the pre-filing credit counseling course, it runs about two hours, costs a small fee, and runs online or by phone through a U.S. Trustee-approved provider.
The provider files a completion certificate with the court. Without it, the court cannot enter the discharge.
Step 7: the discharge order
The discharge is the order that ends personal liability on qualifying debts. In a Chapter 7 case, the discharge typically enters about 60 to 90 days after the § 341 meeting, putting the total timeline at four to six months from petition to discharge. In a Chapter 13 case, the discharge enters after the debtor completes the three- to five-year plan and the trustee files a final report.
The discharge order is a federal court order. It permanently bars the discharged creditors from collecting on the discharged debt. Section 524 makes any attempt to collect a discharged debt a contempt of court.
How long does the whole process take?
A typical Chapter 7 consumer case runs about four to six months from petition to discharge:
- Day 0: petition filed; automatic stay takes effect
- Day 30-45: § 341 meeting of creditors
- Day 60-90: deadlines for creditor objections and complaints close
- Day 120-180: discharge order enters; case closes
A Chapter 13 case follows the same early sequence (petition, § 341 meeting, debtor education course) but stays open through the three- to five-year plan term. The discharge enters when the plan ends and the trustee certifies completion.
A note on Philadelphia & South Jersey practice
The federal Bankruptcy Code is the same nationwide. What varies is how each district’s trustees and judges handle the work day to day. The Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the District of New Jersey both have panels of Chapter 7 trustees, standing Chapter 13 trustees, and bankruptcy judges who hear cases regularly. Local familiarity with a specific trustee’s audit style, exemption objection patterns, and confirmation hearing schedule matters more in close-call cases than in routine ones. A lawyer who has filed many cases in your district handles your case more efficiently because they know what the trustees and judges will ask.
Talk to a bankruptcy lawyer who serves Philadelphia & South Jersey
The Law Office of Mike Assad helps individuals across Philadelphia and South Jersey file Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases from start to discharge. Mike is admitted in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey and handles cases through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the District of New Jersey.
What working with the firm looks like:
- A free, confidential consultation with no obligation, and a straight read on whether bankruptcy is the right tool and which chapter fits.
- Flat-fee pricing, with payment plans available. A $999 Chapter 7 program for qualifying filers.
- The same lawyer on your case from the first call through the discharge order, and a live person on the phone when you call.
- Fully virtual representation by phone and Zoom, so you never have to come to an office.
Call (609) 808-3300 or book your free consultation online. The firm has offices in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. If it would help, you can share your debt picture before the call so the consultation starts from the facts.
Frequently asked questions
No. The lawyer files the petition electronically. Both the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the District of New Jersey hold consumer § 341 meetings of creditors by phone or video. The required credit counseling and debtor education courses run online. A standard consumer case does not need the filer to step into a courthouse.
Immediately. The stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362 takes effect at the moment the petition is filed. Creditors cannot collect, garnish, sue, or contact you about pre-petition debts from that point forward.
A required pre-filing course under 11 U.S.C. § 109(h). It runs about one hour, costs a small fee, and runs online or by phone through a U.S. Trustee-approved provider. Your lawyer files the completion certificate with the petition.
The Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 trustee asks the debtor questions under oath about the schedules. The meeting usually takes ten to fifteen minutes. Despite the name, creditors rarely attend consumer § 341 meetings. In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the meeting takes place by phone or video.
About four to six months from petition to discharge. The § 341 meeting falls about 30 to 45 days after filing, creditor deadlines close around day 60 to 90, and the discharge order typically enters around day 120 to 180.
Mike Assad
Founding attorney, admitted in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Mike has guided individuals and businesses through bankruptcy across Pennsylvania and New Jersey.