Successfully understanding and completing the bankruptcy petition is the key to achieving a complete discharge in your bankruptcy. No matter which Chapter you file your bankruptcy in, you will need to complete your petition. Understanding it and doing it correctly the first time will ensure a smooth process until you are discharged. We will outline in a few posts the various schedules and sections and provide a brief explanation of each. Of course, it is in your best interest to contact your bankruptcy attorney regarding these schedules, as they are often more complex and technical in reality than outlined here.
Schedule A
Schedule A lists any interests that you have in any real property. This includes your single family home, any land, a timeshare, condo, building, or even empty lots. If you have property in another country, you must also list it here. The schedule is designed to list any and all interests you may have in real property, even if your hypothetical share is small.
Schedule B
Schedule B is for personal property. Here, you list all other interests in property besides real property. This schedule, then, essentially lists all assets that are not real property interests. Included here would be your household goods and furnishings, bank accounts, 401(k) and other retirement plans, any interests in injury claims or other lawsuits where you stand to make money, stocks, bonds, and cars. In addition to just listing these properties, you need to provide a market value for those assets. This market value should be accurate because if it shows equity in the property beyond any applicable exemptions, that could be something that could be liquidated.
Schedule C
This schedule is related to Schedules A and B because it lists the exemptions being used to protect the property on those two schedules. Here, you will detail the exemptions that you're linking to the property on Schedules A and B. This schedule is important because it shows whether there is any unprotected equity in your property. Accurate completion of this schedule allows a proper liquidation analysis to be conducted by your attorney prior to filing your case.