Why are the forms asking for information about other people? Will the court contact them?

There are a number of spots in the bankruptcy forms where you'll need to identify others for a specific purpose:

Your spouse:

• You'll have to provide certain information about your spouse even though they're not filing. 
• If you're divorced, you'll also have to provide the court with specific information about your ex-spouse.
• If you lived in a community property state with your current or former spouse at any time during the 8 years before filing, the forms require you provide a current address for them. Merely listing their address does not mean that they'll be notified of your filing.  

PLEASE NOTE - Upsolve can only assist individual filers and not joint filers.

Co-owners/joint owners:

• If someone has a joint ownership interest in something you own, you have to flag that for the court on Official Form 106A/B (Schedule A/B). The court will not contact them. In fact, you don't have to disclose their name or contact information on the forms at all. The bankruptcy trustee may ask you for it later if the property is not protected by an exemption.
• The most common examples for jointly owned property are cars and joint bank accounts.

Co-borrowers/co-signers/co-debtors:

• If someone other than yourself is legally responsible for paying back a debt, their name and contact information has to be disclosed on Official Form 106H (Schedule H).
• Whether you're the borrower and the other person co-signed the debt for you, or they're the borrower and you co-signed the debt for them does not make a difference.
• The bankruptcy rules require that all individuals identified on Schedule H as being responsible for one or more debts listed in your schedules are included on the creditor matrix. This means that they will receive the initial Notice of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Case (Form 309A) and any other notices the court sends to your creditors.
• You'll have to list payments made on a debt that you're co-signed on in response to Question 8 on Official Form 107 (Statement of Financial Affairs).
  

Yes, this means that your co-signers will be notified about your bankruptcy filing. While this may not be ideal, it's probably best to tell your co-signers about your plans anyway. After all, your Chapter 7 discharge will not protect them, and the moment you stop making payments on the debt, their credit will be negatively impacted if they're not making the payments instead. This is true whether you file bankruptcy or not. The only way to protect your co-signer and their credit is to make all payments as they come due. 

 Individuals you owe money

• If you've borrowed funds from a family member or friend, you have to list them as a creditor. Typically these loans are unsecured and listed on Official Form 106E/F (Schedule E/F). They will receive the initial Notice of Chapter 7 bankruptcy case (Form 309A) and any other notices the court sends to all creditors and parties-in-interest. 
• You also have to let the court know how much you've paid them for this debt in the 12 months before filing your case.
• This article provides more details on what to expect if you paid someone you know back before filing your case.

Individuals who received gifts from you in the last 2 years

• If you've given a gift with a total value or more than $600 to someone you know in the 2 years before the case is filed, you have to provide the court with their name and contact information on Official Form 107 (Statement of Financial Affairs).
• The court will not contact them. However, if the gifts were very expensive, the trustee may ask you for more information about it later in your case. They'll want to make sure that you didn’t make the gift to hide money or property from your creditors.

Landlord

• If you're in a residential lease, you have to provide your landlord's name and address to the court. Other than sending your landlord Form 309A and other notices sent to all creditors, the court will not contact them.
• If you're in a month-to-month arrangement with your landlord and don't have a long term lease, you do not have to provide your landlord's name and contact information on the form.

Owners of property currently in your possession

• You have to list all property you have that belongs to someone else in response to Question 23 on Official Form 107 (Statement of Financial Affairs). The court will not contact them.
• It's important to list all valuable items that you're either holding for or borrowing from someone here, to minimize confusion. Otherwise, it will look like you're trying to hide something by not listing the item on your Schedule A/B.
• The most common examples for this category include borrowed cars, furniture you're borrowing, and bank accounts you don't use yourself but your name is listed on the account for some reason.

People who have access to your storage unit or safe deposit box

• If you have a storage unit or safe deposit box, you have to provide the court within information about everyone else that has access to it. The court will not contact them.

Persons I've sold, traded, transferred or given something to

• You have to list items that you traded, sold or transferred to someone else in the past two years and the name and address of the person who received the items on Question 18 of Official Form 107 (Statement of Financial Affairs). This includes if you sold a house, your car, random items you had around your home or if you removed your name from the title or a car. The transfer of property due to a divorce would also be listed here. 
• The question does not apply if you're in the business of selling items.
• The court will not contact them. However, if the items sold or transferred were very expensive, the trustee may ask you for more information about it later in your case. They'll want to make sure that you didn’t sell or transfer the items to hide money or property from your creditors.

Even though it may not seem like it at first glance, the forms are asking for this information to make sure that the court and your trustee have a complete picture of your financial situation. Remember that the forms require you to be completely forthcoming and truthful. If you leave someone off the forms intentionally, this can negatively impact your case.