How To File Bankruptcy for Free in Wisconsin

Collect Your Wisconsin Bankruptcy Documents

Whether you’re using an attorney, going through Upsolve, or filing Chapter 7 in Wisconsin without any help, the first thing you’ll need to do is get your financial documents together. The bankruptcy court has specific documents they’ll need to see, including:

• Your last two years of tax returns. 

• The last 60 days of paycheck stubs. If you can’t find your paystubs, you can ask your employer’s payroll office to give you copies.

It’s also helpful to have bank statements from the past 6-12 months and a recent credit report. You can get a free credit report once a year from each of the three consumer credit reporting agencies. If you file using Upsolve’s tool, it will pull your credit report for you. Your credit report lists all your creditors, or who you owe money to. You’ll need this information to file your bankruptcy.

Also, start collecting any letters and statements from debt collectors and collection agencies you receive. When you fill out your Chapter 7 paperwork, you’ll need to list who you owe money to, how much money you owe them, and their current contact information.

Take Credit Counseling

Before you can file for Chapter 7, you’ll need to take a credit counseling course. It covers topics like your income, expenses, assets, and budgeting. And it will also discuss your debt relief options. The class generally takes about two hours, and you can do it from home over the phone or online. Make sure you take the course from a provider approved by the state of Wisconsin. The course does cost money, but you can ask for a fee waiver.

It can be a good idea to take the class early and get it out of the way, but you need to complete the class within 180 days before you file your bankruptcy petition with the court. Once you finish the course, you’ll receive a completion certificate. You need to include this document with your bankruptcy filing.

Complete the Bankruptcy Forms

Most of the bankruptcy forms you’ll complete are the same nationwide. You’ll use the financial documents you gathered to fill out the forms, which are available for free online. The federal government has a guide for filling out the forms if you’re filing pro se (without a lawyer).

Even if you have a lawyer, you’ll still need to answer questions about your finances. You’ll usually do this by filling out a questionnaire. The lawyer will use your answers to fill out the paperwork. Upsolve works similarly — you’ll fill out an online questionnaire, then our software generates your forms for you.

Take your time when going through the paperwork. You need to be accurate and honest. If you submit false information to the court, you could be committing perjury.

Get Your Filing Fee

Filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy costs $338. Normally it’s a good idea to wait to file your bankruptcy petition until you can pay the fee in full. But in some cases, people need to file quickly to take advantage of the automatic stay to stop a wage garnishment or a foreclosure. Once the court issues the automatic stay, creditors can’t continue their collection efforts. 

If you’re in a similar position and need to file before you can pay the full fee, you can pay the $338 in up to four installment payments. Be careful, though — if you’re late with a payment, or miss a payment, the court can dismiss your case without giving you a refund.

If you earn less than $150% of the federal poverty guidelines for Wisconsin, you can ask the court for a fee waiver. See if you’re eligible by looking at our Wisconsin Fee Waiver Eligibility table below.

Print Your Bankruptcy Forms

After you finish filling out all your bankruptcy documents, you’ll need to print them. When you print, you should use regular, white letter-sized paper (8.5x11-inch paper). You should print everything in black ink and on one side only.

It’s a good idea to print everything the same week you file because the bankruptcy documents are time-sensitive. Go through each document to make sure you have everything you need and you’ve signed in every signature spot.

Upsolve users will get a packet as a single PDF download that includes dividers that flag each signature spot.

Make a copy of everything for your records and keep it in a safe space.

File Your Forms With the Wisconsin Bankruptcy Court

If you’re filing your bankruptcy petition pro se, you’ll need to get the physical papers to the courthouse. Only lawyers can file online. Not every courthouse in Wisconsin accepts bankruptcy filings, so you’ll need to get the papers to the Madison courthouse if you live in the Western Districts or the Milwaukee courthouse if you live in the Eastern District.

Before you head out, make sure you have everything you need, including a picture ID and all the forms that have to be filed. You’ll be entering a federal courthouse, so you’ll need to go through security. Once you get past security, make your way to the clerk's office. These are the folks who take your forms and make sure that you have everything together. You will not see a judge during this visit. Once you’re done at the clerk's office and they’ve given you your bankruptcy case number, you’ll be free to head home.

If you can’t make it to the courthouse, someone else can drop off the forms for you or you can mail them to the address provided on the court’s website. The courthouse may have additional COVID-19 safety precautions or options for filing during the pandemic, so double-check before you go.

Mail Documents to Your Trustee

Once you file your Chapter 7 paperwork, the bankruptcy court will assign a trustee to oversee your case. The trustee isn’t a judge, but they act as an administrator for the case. 

At least seven days before the 341 meeting, you must send your trustee:

• A bank statement covering the date you filed bankruptcy, and

• The last two years of federal tax returns.

The bankruptcy trustee may send you a letter asking for other documents, like additional bank statements (usually the statement that covers your filing date) or pay stubs. Do your best to get the documents to the trustee as quickly as possible. This will help your bankruptcy case go smoothly and help you get your discharge sooner.

Take a Debtor Education Course

After you file your Chapter 7 case, you need to take a second financial education course before your Chapter 7 case can be discharged. This course focuses on financial management and aims to set you up with the tools you need to take full advantage of your fresh start. You need to take the course from a list of providers approved by the state of Wisconsin. You can take the course over the phone or online.

Like the first course, this class takes about two hours to finish and you’ll receive a completion certificate. Send this certificate to the court within 60 days of the meeting of creditors. If you don’t, the court could dismiss your case and you won’t get a discharge.

Attend Your 341 Meeting

After filing bankruptcy, you’ll receive a notice from the court about the 341 meeting, which is also called the meeting of creditors. It typically happens 30-40 days after you file your case. It’s the only formal proceeding for most folks filing Chapter 7. Right now, all of the creditor’s meetings are being held over the phone or by video conference as a COVID-19 safety measure.

At the meeting, your bankruptcy trustee will check your ID and ask you questions for about five minutes. The questions will be about your financial situation. It’s a good idea to prepare for the meeting by reviewing your bankruptcy papers. Creditors can show up to ask you questions, but that doesn’t usually happen.

After the 341 meeting, the only thing you need to do is turn in your completion certificate from the debtor education course (within 60 days of the meeting) and wait for your discharge. Congratulations!

Dealing with Your Car

You don’t have to delay filing for Chapter 7 relief because you’re worried about losing your car. The Bankruptcy Code has rules that protect your car or let you walk away from a bad loan.

Wisconsin bankruptcy laws allow you to protect up to $4,000 of equity in your vehicle if you own it or have paid off part of the loan. If you’re still paying off your car and like the car, the loan, and the monthly payment, you can reaffirm the loan and keep making payments as normal. If you’re leasing the car and are happy with the lease, you can usually continue with the same lease agreement.

If you like the car but the loan balance is more than the car is worth, you can pay the car’s actual value as a lump sum by redeeming the car. Finally, if the car is not really that great and may not even be around for that much longer, you can surrender it. If you surrender or redeem your car, you won’t have to pay the balance of the loan.

After bankruptcy, it might be easier to buy a car because your credit score will probably improve.