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- 1). Seek credit counseling from a government-approved agency in the 180 days prior to filing your bankruptcy petition. You should receive a certificate of credit counseling to be filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Kansas.
- 2). Take the means test. Compare your family income to the median family income for a family of the same size within the state of Kansas. As of 2010, the Census Bureau listed Kansas median incomes as: $41,210 for a single-earner; $57,561 for a family of two; $63,212 for a family of three; and $72,352 for a family of four. Add $7,500 for every family member in excess of four. If your family income is below the state median, skip to Step 4.
- 3). Calculate monthly disposable income by deducting allowed monthly expenses from monthly income. If your disposable income is less than $100, you can file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If your disposable income is more than $100, but that amount would not pay at least 25 of the debts over the next 60 months, you can file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Otherwise, you fail the means test and cannot file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
- 4). File your bankruptcy petition with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Kansas and pay your $299 filing fee. You should also file your bankruptcy schedules, including a schedule of exempt property. Exempt property cannot be sold to pay your creditors. If you do not file the schedules with the petition, you must file them within 15 days of filing the petition.
- 5). Claim exemptions. Kansas lists the following property as exempt from being sold: real property, manufactured home, or mobile home of unlimited value, but cannot exceed one acre in a city or town or 160 acres on a farm; motor vehicle up to $20,000, no limit if equipped to accommodate disabled person; clothing for one year; home furnishings and appliances; food and fuel for one year; burial plot; jewelry and articles of adornment up to $1,000; funeral prepayment plan; wages; pensions; public benefits; insurance; tools of the trade up to $7,500; alimony and child support.
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