A joint petition is the filing of a single petition by an individual and the individual’s spouse. Only people who are married on the date they file may file a joint petition. Unmarried persons, corporations and partnerships must each file a separate case. If you are an individual and have a business which is not a partnership, corporation or business trust, you should list the business as a “dba” (doing business as) on your petition. However, yours will not be considered a joint petition because the business is not an independently-recognized legal entity.