How To File Bankruptcy for Free in Alaska

Collect Your Alaska Bankruptcy Documents

To file for bankruptcy, you’ll first need to gather some important financial documents, including:

• Your last two years of tax returns.

• Paycheck stubs that cover the previous 60 days.

• A recent bank statement for each of your accounts. After filing your case, you’ll also need to hang on to the bank statement that covers the filing date. 

You should also gather any documents that contain information about your expenses and what you owe to creditors, like:

• Bills or statements from your creditors,

• Bank statements that cover the last 12 months,

• Any communication from collection agencies, and

• A recent credit report.

You can request a free credit report once a year from each of the three main credit bureaus. If you use Upsolve’s free filing tool to file your case, it will pull your credit report for you.

Take a Credit Counseling Course

You must enroll in a credit counseling course before you file bankruptcy. You need to complete the 1 - 2 hour course no more than 180 days before you file your bankruptcy case in court. The course has a fee, but you may be able to get a fee waiver if you can’t afford to pay it.

You must take the course from one of the approved course providers. Once you finish the course, you’ll get a certificate of completion. You must include this along with the other required documents when you file your bankruptcy case.

Complete the Bankruptcy Forms

Filling out bankruptcy forms can be time-consuming. But filling out the forms yourself isn’t impossible. You can access and download all the forms as fillable PDFs for free at USCourts.gov. Since bankruptcy is a federal proceeding, forms are the same for filers across the U.S.

If you qualify to use Upsolve’s free tool, you’ll fill out a questionnaire, and then Upsolve’s software will generate the forms using the information you provide. If you go through a lawyer, they’ll also likely give you a questionnaire to fill out. Then they’ll fill out the forms using your answers and financial documents.

Get Your Filing Fee

Under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, there is a $338 filing fee for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. This fee is the same, no matter where you live. If you can’t afford the fee and you make under 150% of the poverty guidelines you can apply for a waiver. To see if you qualify, check out the Alaska Fee Waiver Eligibility table below. You can also apply to pay the fee over time with an installment plan.

If possible, it’s best to pay in full when you file. That’s because if you’re on a payment plan and you miss a payment, you risk the court dismissing your case. That said, if you need to file your case quickly to get protection from the automatic stay, you may want to consider an installment plan. The automatic stay prevents creditors from collecting from you, and it starts as soon as you file your case. This is a good idea if you’re subject to wage garnishment or other serious collection actions that are about to take place.

Print Your Bankruptcy Forms

If you’re preparing your bankruptcy forms to submit as a pro se filer (without an attorney), you can either:

• Print and sign all the required forms, then mail them or bring them to court. There are a lot of forms, so printing a checklist first and marking them off as you go may be helpful. Also, be sure to sign in every required signature spot.

• Skip printing the full bankruptcy petition, and file your forms online using the Alaska bankruptcy court’s Electronic Self Representation portal. If you have access to a computer and the internet, this may be a good option. If you file online, you’ll still need to print and sign a Declaration Regarding Electronic Filing and a Statement About Your Social Security Numbers.

Any forms you print should be printed single-sided, in black ink, on white 8.5” x 11” paper.

If you file with Upsolve’s tool, you’ll get all your documents in one downloadable packet and the pages you need to sign will be flagged.

File Your Forms With the Alaska Bankruptcy Court

You can file Chapter 7 bankruptcy in several ways.

• Use the court’s online portal to file your forms. Then bring or send in your filing fee or application for a waiver, plus the other required documents to the court (see above). Your petition won’t be officially entered by the court until you pay the fee (or apply for a waiver or installment payments) and submit this paperwork. 

• Print your forms and bring them along with your filing fee or waiver application to the Anchorage courthouse in person. You can submit them in person to the court clerk or use the court’s drop box, which has been added as an option during COVID-19. 

• Print them and mail them to the court along with your filing fee or waiver application.

The court’s mailing address is as follows:

U.S. Bankruptcy Court District of Alaska

605 W. 4th Ave, Suite 138 

Anchorage, Alaska 99501

The court is open from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on business days. When you submit your forms, you’ll need to pay your filing fee or submit an application for a fee waiver or an application to pay in installments. If you pay the filing fee in person at the courthouse, you can pay using cash if you have exact change. Otherwise, you can use a cashier’s check or money order, payable to “Clerk, U.S. Bankruptcy court.” If you use the drop box, you must pay your filing fee with a money order or cashier’s check.

Mail Documents to Your Trustee

After you file, the court will assign a bankruptcy trustee to your case. The trustee is an independent third party whose job is to ensure that the bankruptcy process is fair. The trustee will verify that the information you submitted is accurate. Once you submit your petition, the court will mail you the trustee’s name and contact information. Although the court provides your information to the trustee, you also have to give the trustee some documents directly. You’ll meet with the trustee at a meeting called a 341 meeting (more on this soon). 

At least seven days ahead of your meeting with them, you need to send them:

• Your tax returns for the last two years, and

• A statement for each of your bank accounts that includes the day you filed for bankruptcy.

Your trustee also may also ask you to provide:

• A copy of your vehicle titles

• Paycheck stubs

• Real estate records

• Other financial documents

If your trustee requests more information, be sure to provide what they ask for. 

Take a Debtor Education Course

You have to take a debtor education course after you file for bankruptcy but before you can get your discharge. This course focuses on financial management tools you can use to make the most of your fresh start. You must complete this course no more than 60 days after your 341 meeting occurs. When you’re finished with the course, you need to file a certificate with the court that shows you took the course. Like with the credit counseling course, you must take the financial management course from a state-approved provider.

Attend Your 341 Meeting

Your 341 meeting is also called the creditors’ meeting or meeting of creditors. Everyone who files bankruptcy must attend this meeting. While your creditors can attend this meeting, it’s often just you and your trustee.

At your 341 meeting, you’ll be instructed to answer questions under oath. The trustee will have you state your name and provide proof of your Social Security number, so they can verify your identity and that your information matches what’s on your bankruptcy forms. Usually, the 341 meeting won’t last more than 10 minutes. It’s pretty easy to get ready for the meeting, and very little can go wrong. You just need to remember to stay calm and tell the truth. Right now, these meetings are being held remotely because of COVID-19.

After the meeting is over, you can look forward to your discharge.

Dealing with Your Car

Even if you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can usually keep your car. If your car is paid off, you’re allowed to hang onto it so long as its value is less than the exemption you choose to use. (More on exemptions below, including your options for vehicle exemptions.) 

If you’re able to make the payments required under your auto loan payment plan or you have a lease, you can keep the car as long as you’re current on your payments and you continue to make them. If you’re financing your car, you’ll do this through a reaffirmation agreement. The lender will send you an agreement after you file your case, and you have to sign it within 45 days of your 341 meeting. If you’re leasing your car, you’ll need to assume the lease to keep it. 

If you’re behind on your car loan payments or don’t want to keep your car, you can surrender it to the lender and have the loan debt erased as part of your Chapter 7 discharge. 

If you choose to give up your car during the bankruptcy process, remember you can buy a car later, and you may even be able to get better terms on a loan.