• Arizona debtors may file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy for protection from creditors.Arizona, America image by Serenitie from Fotolia.com
  
  Arizona debtors may file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in order to obtain protection from creditors. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is most commonly filed by those who face foreclosure or car repossession. Chapter 13 bankruptcy requires debtors to pay back their debt over time, so the debtor must have a regular source of income to file for this type of bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is filed as a petition in Federal court and is governed by the United States Bankruptcy code.
  
  

Eligibility

• Debtors in Arizona who wish to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy must be eligible to do so. Debtors who have filed a bankruptcy case within the previous year and had that case dismissed may not be eligible to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Those who have had previous bankruptcies dismissed and file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, may have their case dismissed within 30 days of filing. Bankruptcies that are dismissed will result in the termination of the automatic stay that was placed on the debtor's property, unless the debtor files an emergency motion requesting a continuation of the automatic stay.
  
  

Personal Financial Management

• Arizona debtors must attend a personal financial management course before a discharge of bankruptcy will be granted. Courses must be approved by the court and the debtor must file a certificate of completion on an official form before the debtor makes his last payment under the Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan. Debtors who fail to file this form may have their Chapter 13 bankruptcy case closed without discharge. Cases that are closed without discharge in Arizona must be refiled and the debtor must pay a fee.
  
  

Documents

• Debtors must provide several documents when filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. These documents include a mailing list of creditors, statement of social security number and the credit counseling certificate of completion. Arizona debtors must also file the appropriate schedules obtained from the clerk of the court, a statement of financial affairs, an individual debtor statement, statement of current monthly income, disposable income and a declaration of evidence of employer's payments for the last 60 days. The Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan will accompany these documents at the time of filing.
  
  

Trustee

• After a debtor has filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the court will appoint a trustee to the case. The bankruptcy trustee accepts the debtor's payments during the bankruptcy plan, and distributes the funds to the appropriate creditors. Debtors must make all scheduled payments under the bankruptcy plan in order to receive a discharge from the trustee. Debtors who fail to make their payments to the bankruptcy trustee, will have their bankruptcy case dismissed and the creditor can continue with collection efforts against the debtor.