How to File Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in West Virginia

To file Chapter 7 bankruptcy in West Virginia, you confirm you qualify under the federal means test, complete a credit counseling session, prepare a petition that uses West Virginia’s state property exemptions, file it with the bankruptcy court for your district along with a $338 fee, attend a meeting of creditors a few weeks later, complete a second financial management course, and receive your discharge roughly four months after filing. The steps are federal, but the exemption dollar limits and the court you file in are specific to West Virginia, and both affect what you keep and where you go.

Check Whether You Qualify

Chapter 7 is gated by the means test in 11 U.S.C. § 707(b). The court first compares your household’s average gross income over the six months before filing to West Virginia’s median income for a household your size. For cases filed on or after April 1, 2026, those medians are $63,908 for one earner, $68,592 for two people, $92,050 for three, and $93,672 for four, with $11,100 added for each additional person.1United States Department of Justice. Median Income by State – Cases Filed On or After April 1, 2026

Fall below the median and you pass automatically. Exceed it and a second calculation subtracts allowable expenses using IRS National and Local Standards to see whether you have enough disposable income to fund a Chapter 13 repayment plan instead.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 707 – Dismissal of a Case or Conversion to a Case Under Chapter 11 or 13

One other eligibility bar: you cannot receive a Chapter 7 discharge if you already received one in a case filed within the previous eight years, measured from the earlier filing date. A prior Chapter 13 or 12 discharge blocks a new Chapter 7 discharge within six years, unless you paid all unsecured claims in full or paid at least 70% under a good-faith best-effort plan.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 727 – Discharge

Complete Credit Counseling Before You File

You must finish a credit counseling session with a nonprofit agency approved by the U.S. Trustee within the 180 days before your filing date.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 109 – Who May Be a Debtor The Department of Justice publishes an approved list for both the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia.5United States Department of Justice. List of Credit Counseling Agencies Approved Pursuant to 11 USC 111 Sessions typically cost $10 to $50. Without the completion certificate, the court will reject your petition.

Know What You Keep: West Virginia’s Exemptions

West Virginia is an opt-out state, so you must use the exemption list in WV Code § 38-10-4 rather than the federal exemptions available in some other states.6West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 38-10-4 – Exemptions of Property in Bankruptcy Proceedings Any equity above these limits can be sold by the trustee to pay creditors, so the numbers decide what you walk away with.

  • Homestead: up to $35,000 in equity in your primary residence. A married couple filing jointly can each claim the full amount, protecting up to $70,000 combined.
  • Motor vehicle: up to $7,500 in equity in one vehicle.
  • Household goods and furnishings: up to $800 per item, with a total cap of $16,000.
  • Jewelry: up to $2,000 for items used primarily by you or your family.
  • Tools of the trade: up to $3,000 in professional tools, books, or implements.
  • Wildcard: up to $800 in any property, plus any unused portion of the homestead exemption. This is useful for bank balances or tax refunds.
  • Personal injury payments: up to $50,000 for bodily injury, not counting pain and suffering or actual financial losses.
  • Life insurance: any unmatured policy you own, other than credit life insurance.
  • Benefits: Social Security, veterans’ benefits, unemployment, disability, and public assistance are fully protected.

Exemptions apply to equity, not market value. If a $12,000 car has a $6,000 loan against it, your equity is $6,000 and the $7,500 vehicle exemption covers it. If equity exceeds the exemption, the trustee can sell the asset, pay the lender, give you the exempt amount, and distribute the rest to unsecured creditors. Realistic valuations matter.

Gather Your Documents

The petition demands a complete picture of your finances. Before you start the forms, pull together:

  • A full list of creditors with mailing addresses and current balances.
  • All pay stubs received in the 60 days before filing.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 521 – Debtor’s Duties
  • Your most recent federal tax return or transcript, which must reach the trustee no later than seven days before the meeting of creditors.
  • An inventory of every asset you own, with current market values.
  • A monthly budget covering housing, food, transportation, and utilities.
  • Any active leases or executory contracts you want to keep or reject.

The lead document is Official Form 101, the Voluntary Petition for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy.8United States Courts. Voluntary Petition for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy The Form 106 schedules detail your assets, debts, income, and expenses. Everything you sign is sworn testimony, and inaccuracies can trigger delays, discharge denials, or fraud allegations.

Mind Your Bank Balances on Filing Day

Whatever sits in your accounts the day you file becomes part of the bankruptcy estate. If you bank where you also carry a loan or credit card, the institution may freeze your accounts to exercise a right of setoff, and that freeze can hold even exempt funds until the trustee or your attorney steps in. A common workaround is to keep only a small balance at any bank where you owe money and route your direct deposit elsewhere well before filing. Moving funds to a different bank is generally fine; moving money to a relative or friend can look like a fraudulent or preferential transfer.

File the Petition

You file in the federal judicial district where you have lived for the majority of the 180 days before your petition. West Virginia has two.

The Northern District covers counties including Ohio, Monongalia, and Berkeley, with offices in Wheeling, Clarksburg, and Martinsburg.9United States Bankruptcy Court. Court Locations – Northern District of West Virginia The Southern District covers counties including Kanawha, Cabell, and Raleigh, with offices in Charleston, Huntington, and Beckley.10Southern District of West Virginia. United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia

The filing fee is $338. If your household income is below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines, you can request a full waiver using Official Form 103B.11United States Courts. Application to Have the Chapter 7 Filing Fee Waived If you do not qualify for the waiver but cannot pay all at once, you can ask to pay in installments.

The Automatic Stay Starts Immediately

The moment the petition is filed, an automatic stay takes effect under 11 U.S.C. § 362. Most collection activity stops at once, including lawsuits, wage garnishments, foreclosure proceedings, and creditor calls.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay Some matters do not stop: criminal proceedings, child support and custody actions, and government enforcement of regulatory and police powers continue regardless of your filing.

Attend the Meeting of Creditors

Within a few weeks of filing, the court sets a meeting of creditors under § 341. You must attend and bring a government-issued photo ID and proof of your Social Security number.13United States Department of Justice. Section 341 Meeting of Creditors A court-appointed trustee runs the session and asks about your filings, assets, and finances. Creditors can attend but rarely do in routine cases. The meeting usually takes under ten minutes.

Watch Out for Preference Clawbacks

If you paid a particular creditor a significant amount in the 90 days before filing, the trustee can recover that payment under § 547 and distribute it among your creditors generally. For payments to insiders such as family members, business partners, or close associates, the look-back period is one year.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 547 – Preferences Paying off a relative’s loan nine months before filing, for instance, can lead to the trustee demanding that money back from them.

Decide What to Do About Secured Debts

If you want to keep a financed car or a mortgaged home, one option is a reaffirmation agreement: a voluntary contract that keeps you personally liable for that specific debt, carving it out of the discharge. You keep the property and continue building a payment record. The risk is real. If you default later, the lender can repossess and sue you for any deficiency, just as if you had never filed.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 524 – Effect of Discharge

The agreement must be signed and filed before your discharge is entered. You have 60 days after filing it to rescind. If you are not represented by an attorney, the judge must review the agreement and find that it does not impose undue hardship and is in your best interest. Judges deny agreements where the budget cannot carry the payment or where the debt exceeds the property’s value. If you choose not to reaffirm, your personal liability is wiped out, but the lien stays on the property, and the lender can still repossess if you stop paying. The difference is they cannot pursue you for the shortfall.

Finish Debtor Education and Receive Your Discharge

Before the court will grant a discharge, you must complete a personal financial management course through a U.S. Trustee-approved provider. This is separate from the pre-filing credit counseling session.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 727 – Discharge File the completion certificate with the court. If the case closes without it, you will pay a fee to reopen, so handle it promptly.

Assuming no creditor objects and you complete debtor education, the court typically enters the discharge about 60 days after the first scheduled meeting of creditors. The full Chapter 7 process runs roughly four months from petition to discharge.16United States Courts. Discharge in Bankruptcy

The discharge is a permanent court order releasing you from personal liability on qualifying debts, and creditors who try to collect anyway can be held in contempt. One caveat: the discharge wipes out personal obligation but not valid liens. If you did not reaffirm your mortgage, the bank cannot sue you for the money, but the lien remains and the bank can still foreclose if payments stop.

Debts That Survive the Discharge

Chapter 7 eliminates most unsecured debt, but § 523 excludes several categories:

  • Child support and alimony.
  • Recent income tax debts, taxes on late or fraudulent returns, and taxes where no return was filed.
  • Student loans, unless you win an undue hardship ruling in a separate proceeding, which remains a very high bar.
  • Debts obtained through false pretenses, false representations, or actual fraud.
  • Debts arising from willful and malicious injury to another person or property.
  • Government fines and penalties, including criminal restitution and traffic tickets.
  • Debts you failed to list, if the creditor did not learn about the case in time to file a claim.

These exclusions apply regardless of your financial situation.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge Federal income tax debt can be dischargeable if the return was due more than three years ago, was filed on time, and involves no fraud. The IRS also requires that you have filed returns for the last four tax periods before you file bankruptcy.18Internal Revenue Service. Declaring Bankruptcy

What It Does to Your Credit

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 10 years from the filing date.19Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Long Does a Bankruptcy Appear on Credit Reports That ceiling comes from the Fair Credit Reporting Act and is honored by the major bureaus.20Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports The impact is most severe in the first two to three years. Many filers start receiving credit card offers within a year of discharge, though at higher rates. Rebuilding depends on consistent on-time payments and checking your reports for errors, including discharged debts that should now show a zero balance.