Question

Do I need to have a certain amount of debt to file bankruptcy?

Is there a limit to the amount of debt you have to have to file bankruptcy? I want to get rid of this debt.
Share |

LawQA.com Answer Library

Answered By: Financial Relief Law Center
There is no limit in a chapter 7 filing.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/13/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Answered By: Bankruptcy Law office of Bill Rubendall
There is no minimum amount of debt you must owe to file bankruptcy. However, you should carefully consider whether bankruptcy is a good choice if your debt is not overwhelming.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/11/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Answered By: The Schinner Law Group
No, there is no minimum limit of debt you must have to file for bankruptcy. And except for chapter 13 cases, there is also no maximum limit. However, if you truly have a small amount of debt, you might want to reconsider whether bankruptcy is the best option. A bankruptcy will harm your credit and hurt your ability to be loaned money for potentially years to come. You might want to keep your bankruptcy option for when, or if, you actually need it. There might be a way to negotiate your way out of the most of the debt without resorting to bankruptcy.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/10/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Answered By: The Schreiber Law Firm
Except for Chapter 13 cases, there is no limit to the debt you have, either high or low, in order to to file. For a Chapter 13 case you cannot have any more than about $360,000 in unsecured debt and $1,060,000 in secured debt.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/9/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Answered By: Grasso Law Group
There is no minimum amount of debt required to file for bankruptcy.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/9/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Answered By: Bird & VanDyke, Inc.
No limits on debt in a chapter 7. There are debt limits on a chapter 13.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/9/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Answered By: Ashman Law Office
Some types of bankruptcy have maximum amounts of debt. None have a minimum.

Answer Applies to: Georgia
Replied: 9/9/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Answered By: Law Offices of Joseph A. Mannis
No, there is no minimum amount, although obviously I think I'd avoid filing if the amount was minimal, but minimal is relative. How much debt do you have?

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/9/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Answered By: Janet A. Lawson Bankruptcy Attorney
There are no debt limits in Chapter 7. There are maximum debt limits in Chapter 13. There are no minimums. I did on once for less than $4,000.00. The client was just sick of the harassment.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/9/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Answered By: Eranthe Law Firm
There is no minimum. If you can't pay off the debt in 3 to 4 years I would consider filing. There is a maximum amount of debt that you can have and file a chapter 13 but I don't think that is what you meant.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/9/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Answered By: Law Office of Maureen O' Malley
No. Just enough that you can't pay it and that you can show you can't afford it and have nothing to sell to pay it. If it's more than your attorney's fees, then it's worth it. But don't do it alone!

Answer Applies to: Virginia
Replied: 9/9/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Answered By: Law Office of David P. Farrell
There is no minimum amount of debt required to file bankruptcy.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 9/9/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

More Questions on Bankruptcy


Ask Questions

Ask a local attorney a question for FREE.

Free Answers

FREE answer from a local attorney.

100% Anonymous

Your email is only used to send answers to you.

Ask Your Own Question

Free Legal Questions & Answers

This site is an exclusive listing brought to you by LawQA and is a form of advertisement. To visit the official website of this attorney please click here.