About This Guide

This guide will help researchers and practitioners locate primary and secondary sources relevant to consumer bankruptcy filings under Chapter 7 and 13 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Researchers and practitioners should Start Here, where they will be introduced to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. Next, they should proceed to The Consumer Bankruptcy Choice: Chapter 7 or 13? This is the heart of the Research Guide, and it introduces researchers and practitioners to Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. While bankruptcy law is a code-based practice, the secondary sources page is a great starting place for maneuvering the intricacies of the Bankruptcy Code.

The Consumer Bankruptcy Choice: Chapter 7 or 13?

Individuals can file under Chapter 7, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, and Chapter 13 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. For individual consumer debtors, however, the basic choice is whether to file a straight liquidation bankruptcy case (under Chapter 7) or a debt repayment plan (under Chapter 13). In fact, "about 99% of [bankruptcy] cases are filed under either chapter 7 or chapter 13." Charles J. Tabb & Ralph Brubaker, Bankruptcy Law Principles, Policies, and Practice 57 (Carolina Academic Press, 5th ed. 2021). Accordingly, this research guide will focus on the The Consumer Bankruptcy Choice: Chapter 7 or 13?

A Note to Practitioners

This guide is not intended to be an exhaustive resource. Bankruptcy law requires practitioners to stay on top of important deadlines, and there are many important deadlines. With that in mind, this guide includes multiple practitioner resources from Westlaw, Lexis+, and Bloomberg Law, and it assumes that researchers and practitioners have access to at least one of the major subscription services. These resources flag some of the important deadlines and include some general information regarding the commencement of a bankruptcy case. However, this guide also includes several free resources that are embedded within the general introductions. For example, the Bankruptcy Basics page is useful for both researchers and practitioners, and it is linked as a general introduction to various chapters.