Before you can file an individual non-business Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, you must take a class, either over the phone, in person or on the internet which, will provide you with a pre-filing counseling certificate. A list of Approved Debtor Education Agencies is located at www.justice.gov. I currently recommend the following web site that has provided clients with pre-filing counseling certificates: www.debtorcc.org Once you have completed the class, you will be presented with a counseling certificate to be filed with the Clerk of the Court.
In a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, while you have more time to file the certificate, I recommend taking the class as soon as possible as the class will provide you with the necessary tools to budget your income and expenses. The providers that I currently recommend are www.BKEducation.com and www.debtorcc.org.