Your bankruptcy petition should be as perfect as possible before it is sent to the court. However, issues can arise after filing. A common problem is the failure to list all creditors. Here is how to amend your bankruptcy petition to fix that problem.
Listing All Creditors is Important
When a bankruptcy petition is submitted to the court, the court mails an official notice to your creditors. The court can only send the notice of bankruptcy to creditors that it knows about. The court relies on debtors to supply the list of creditors.
Creditors can be listed on Schedule D or E/F of the bankruptcy petition. Schedule D is reserved for secured creditors. Schedule E/F is reserved for unsecured creditors.
Occasionally, a debtor forgets to list one or more creditors on the initial paperwork. Or maybe a new collection notice shows up after the bankruptcy has been filed. Good news: the courts permit you to amend your bankruptcy petition after filing.
How To Amend Bankruptcy List of Creditors
- List the legal name, address, and debt amount of the new debt on the appropriate bankruptcy schedule.
- Write a big “A” next to the name of the creditor. This tells the clerk of the court which debts are being added.
- In the Eastern District of California, you are required to prepare an Amendment Cover Sheet. You can download this form from the court website.
- Prepare a new Master Address List that contains only the name and address of the new creditor. There is a helpful tool on the court website that helps with this.
- Prepare a Proof of Service. You are required to mail the amendment and a copy of your 341 Notice to each creditor that you are now including in the bankruptcy along with two other parties listed below. You must file a Proof of Service with the Court to show that you have mailed the notice to the appropriate parties.
- Prepare three envelopes: one addressed to the new creditor; one addressed to your bankruptcy trustee; and one addressed to the United States Trustee’s Office. Include a fully copy of the amendment along with an unsigned Proof of Service. Put these in the mail.
- Sign your Proof of Service. You can now take your Amendment Cover Sheet, Amended Schedule, Master Address List, and Proof of Service to the Court for filing.
As you can see, making an amendment to your bankruptcy petition does take some work. It isn’t difficult to do, but the right steps must be followed. Skipping a step can result in an invalid amendment. This means that the new debt might not be included in your discharge.
I help make bankruptcy easy by handling the process from start to finish for my clients. Please call my office at (916) 333-2222 if you want to discuss how bankruptcy can help you.
