Here are a few things that are commonly asked about a personal chapter 7 bankruptcy filing that are helpful to know:

- A chapter 7 is actually a liquidation, however, there are "exemptions" that allow you to exempt your property from the bankruptcy estate and therefore most people never have to liquidate anything in their chapter 7 case. This is why a chapter 7 is often referred to as the chapter where debts are just simply wiped out (as opposed to a chapter 13 where you have a repayment plan).

- You can only file chapter 7 if your household income falls below the median income level for your household size for your state. If it is above that level, you will most likely have to file chapter 13.

- Student loans are not dischargeable in a bankruptcy case. If student loans are your primary source of debt, you will not find much relief through a chapter 7 bankruptcy.

- Any debtor filing bankruptcy must attend the mandatory meeting of creditors. Usually no creditors appear and it is just you, your attorney, and your bankruptcy trustee who will question you under oath about the information you supplied on your bankruptcy documents. Most creditors meeting are uneventful and only last about 10 minutes.

- You should be able to keep your home and car in a chapter 7 bankruptcy case, however, you will usually enter into reaffirmation agreements to do that. In a reaffirmation agreement you will have to show you have enough disposable income to afford to continue making the payments on the loan. If you cannot show that you have enough disposable income to afford the home or the car, the bankruptcy judge will not approve the reaffirmation agreement as those loan payments are then considered a hardship for you.

- A chapter 7 case that is completed in six months is a good scenario. Many cases can drag on much longer if the trustee thinks there is a way that funds can be raised for your creditors, usually through selling an asset or trying to recover a preferential transfer.