Outsourcing Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Petition Preparation: A Guide for Bankruptcy Firms

What an Outsourced Team Can Prepare

Working in your petition software and from your intake documents, a trained team can prepare:

• The voluntary petition (Official Form 101) and the schedules: assets on Schedule A/B, exemptions on Schedule C, creditors on Schedules D and E/F, contracts and leases on Schedule G, codebtors on Schedule H, and income and expenses on Schedules I and J.
• The Statement of Financial Affairs (Official Form 107) and, for Chapter 7, the Statement of Intention (Official Form 108).
• The means test: Official Forms 122A-1 and 122A-2 in Chapter 7, or 122C-1 and 122C-2 in Chapter 13, with current monthly income calculated from the six months before filing.
• The creditor matrix in your district's format, and any local forms.
• A draft Chapter 13 plan on Official Form 113 or your district's local plan form.
• Amended schedules, responses to trustee document requests, and proof-of-claim review after filing.
• An attorney summary sheet for each case, listing anything that needs a decision before filing.

What Must Stay With the Attorney

The attorney advises the client, chooses the chapter, decides exemptions and strategy, and signs. Under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(4), the attorney's signature on a petition certifies that the attorney performed a reasonable investigation and has no knowledge after inquiry that the schedules are incorrect. That duty is the attorney's, so outsourced work has to reach the attorney in a form that makes review fast and reliable.

This is also what separates supervised outsourcing from a non-attorney bankruptcy petition preparer under 11 U.S.C. § 110. An outsourced team working for your firm prepares drafts for your attorney; it does not deal with your clients as a preparer or give them advice.

The Documents That Drive Every Petition

Most delays come from missing client documents. A good provider tracks these from day one:

• Pay stubs and other payment advices for the 60 days before filing, which 11 U.S.C. § 521 requires the debtor to file.
• Recent federal tax returns. The most recent return must go to the trustee at least seven days before the meeting of creditors.
• Bank and retirement account statements, a credit report, and statements for mortgages, vehicle loans and other secured debts.
• Vehicle values (for example Kelley Blue Book or NADA) and real-property values.
• The certificate of credit counseling, which must generally be completed within the 180 days before filing under 11 U.S.C. § 109(h).

Turnaround for Emergency Filings

When a foreclosure sale or repossession is days away, speed matters. With the documents in hand, an experienced team can turn a complete petition around in a day. Where the client cannot assemble everything in time, many attorneys file a bare petition with the required lists and complete the remaining schedules within the deadline the court sets, and the outsourced team can prepare those schedules while the stay is in effect.

Quality Checks Before It Reaches the Attorney

Ask any provider how it checks its own work. A sound review includes:

• Income on Schedule I reconciled to the pay stubs and to the means test.
• Every debt on the credit report accounted for on Schedules D or E/F.
• Secured debts matched to the collateral listed on Schedule A/B.
• Exemptions on Schedule C consistent with the jurisdiction the attorney has chosen.
• Statement of Financial Affairs answers consistent with the bank statements, including payments to insiders and transfers.
• Open questions listed on the summary sheet rather than guessed.

Software and Access

Most consumer bankruptcy firms prepare petitions in Best Case by Stretto or similar platforms. An outsourced team should work inside your account, with your templates and your district's settings, so files never leave your system and the attorney can review and file in the usual way.

How Prodigy LPO Handles Bankruptcy Work

Our team has prepared thousands of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 petitions for US bankruptcy firms, in Best Case, ProLaw, EZ-Filing and Fresh Start. Every case comes with an attorney summary sheet, urgent petitions can be turned around in a day once the documents are in, and your attorney reviews and files. Your first case is a free sample.