Chapter 7 is the most common consumer bankruptcy chapter, providing a relatively quick discharge of unsecured debts in exchange for liquidation of non-exempt assets. This educational reference covers the filing process, the means-test interaction, the § 341 meeting of creditors, discharge timing, and post-discharge issues.
Chapter 7 is a "liquidation" bankruptcy. The trustee gathers the debtor's non-exempt assets, sells them, and distributes proceeds to creditors. In exchange, most pre-petition unsecured debts are discharged at case completion (typically ~3-4 months from filing).
For most consumer debtors, Chapter 7 is a "no-asset" case — all property is exempt under § 522 and the trustee has nothing to distribute. The debtor receives the discharge without losing any property.
Chapter 7 has two threshold eligibility tests:
The means test is the dominant eligibility hurdle. See means-test.openbankruptcyproject.org for detail.