Filing a bankruptcy case requires filling out a lot of paperwork, and it requires submitting a lot of documents to your attorney. If you want to file for bankruptcy, you might want to begin by gathering the documents you might need to file your case. Here is a list of some of the primary things you might need in order to file a bankruptcy case.

Income Forms

A bankruptcy attorney cannot help you file your case without seeing and verifying your income. In fact, your income determines which branches you qualify to use. Therefore, most attorneys ask to see a person's proof of income before viewing anything else. The attorney needs to see documentation from every source of income, including money you earn from your job. Your income also includes money you receive for child support or alimony payments and money you received from an inheritance or windfall. When you gather your documents, make sure you find every form of income you have from the last six months.

Tax Returns

Your tax returns are another form of income, but they show your income for an entire year. You cannot file a bankruptcy case without showing your attorney your last two years of tax returns. If you did not file them for the last two years, you must file them before you file your bankruptcy case. The court needs to see these before they can process your case.

Statements Showing Your Assets and Their Values

The next thing you need to file a bankruptcy case is proof of your assets and their values. This primarily refers to valuable assets, such as property and vehicles. If you have other valuable assets, you can bring statements for those items, too. The point of this is to show the court what assets you own and how much they are worth.

Debt Statements

The last thing you need is statements that prove your debts. You need to show your attorney every debt that you have and showing your debt statements is the best way to prove how much you owe. Your attorney will also pull your credit file to see if it contains any other debts that you did not include on your list. To get the most out of your case, you must prove every debt.

If you have questions about filing for bankruptcy, talk to an attorney. A bankruptcy attorney can answer your questions and advise you about your options.