Bent County, Colorado

Which bankruptcy court hears a case from Bent County?

Colorado is a single judicial district: there are no county-based divisions, so a case filed by a Bent County resident goes to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado, administered from the clerk's office in Denver. Cases are assigned to judges by random selection across the whole district rather than by where you live, and Grand Junction and Pueblo are places where court may be held rather than separate county-assigning divisions. Venue itself follows the greater part of the 180-day period before filing — your domicile, residence, principal place of business in the United States, or principal assets (28 U.S.C. § 1408) — so a recent move from another state or a business based elsewhere can change which district is correct; residence alone is not the whole rule. The district courts have original and exclusive jurisdiction over cases under title 11 (28 U.S.C. § 1334), which they refer to the bankruptcy judges.

What does this court require of someone filing without a lawyer?

The court publishes a Guide for Debtors Filing Bankruptcy Without an Attorney, and it makes one point that is easy to miss: where the Colorado local bankruptcy rules say "attorney," they apply to you. Clerk's office staff are also barred from advising you about your rights in your own case. Self-represented individual Chapter 7 filers may prepare a petition through the court's Electronic Self Representation module, but submitting that package does not open a case — the case is filed only after the clerk receives hand-signed originals of the eSR Signature and Declaration Form and your statement about your Social Security number (COB GPO 2025-1). Unrepresented parties may otherwise file in person or by mail, and may request permission to file electronically through CM/ECF using the court's Self-represented E-Filing Application; joint debtors must both apply (COB GPO 2026-1). Every document you file must show your contact information below your signature (D. Colo. L.B.R. 9011-4).

How does the meeting of creditors work in this district?

The United States trustee convenes and presides at a meeting of creditors after your case is filed, and the judge may neither preside at nor attend it (11 U.S.C. § 341). In Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases the trustee assigned to your case conducts the meeting, and the court's published information says it usually occurs between 21 and 50 days after the petition is filed. All § 341 meetings in Chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases in this district are held by Zoom; debtors, creditors and counsel are told not to appear in person, which matters if you live a long drive from Denver. Before concluding, the trustee must orally examine a Chapter 7 debtor about the consequences of seeking a discharge, your ability to file under a different chapter, and the effect of reaffirming a debt (11 U.S.C. § 341). Expect questions about your schedules rather than argument; no judge is present.

What local rules and orders change the process here?

Three local requirements catch first-time filers. First, the Chapter 13 plan is filed on the court's own local form, and a district-wide fee order sets a presumptively reasonable total fee allowance for a Chapter 13 debtor's attorney, with costs above a stated threshold treated as extraordinary and requiring a supplemental application (COB GPO 2021-1). Second, you must file the payment advices required by 11 U.S.C. § 521(a)(1)(B)(iv) — pay stubs or other evidence of payment received in the 60 days before filing — or a statement under penalty of perjury on the court's local form explaining why you have none (D. Colo. L.B.R. 1007-6). Third, continuing your meeting of creditors is the trustee's decision, not the court's: the written request must reach the appointed trustee no later than seven days before the scheduled meeting, and if the trustee consents you must file and serve a notice of the continued meeting (D. Colo. L.B.R. 2003-1).

What does it cost to file, and what if you cannot pay?

Filing fees are federal, not local. A Chapter 7 case carries a $245 statutory filing fee (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1)), a $78 administrative fee (Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8) and a $15 trustee surcharge (Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 9), collected together at filing. A Chapter 13 case carries a $235 statutory filing fee (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)) plus an administrative fee of $78. Every paper petition must arrive with full payment, an application to pay in installments, or — in Chapter 7 only — an application to have the fee waived; a paper petition without one of the three is returned and no case is opened (COB GPO 2014-4(a)). The first installment is due no later than 14 days after the petition date. A Chapter 7 waiver turns on income below 150 percent of the official poverty line and inability to pay in installments, and the court requires completed Schedules I and J with the application (D. Colo. L.B.R. 1006-1).

Which Colorado questions should you settle before filing?

Three questions decided by Colorado law, not by the bankruptcy court, shape most outcomes, and they are worth settling before you file rather than after. First, which exemption list applies to you, because exemptions decide what you keep; the federal material behind this page does not answer that, and we publish the verified Colorado figures separately rather than paraphrasing them here. Second, Colorado's homestead protection carries conditions as well as an amount, and a figure quoted without its conditions can be misleading, so we publish each amount alongside the conditions attached to it rather than resolving them into one number. Third, how much of your wages a judgment creditor can reach today, and what filing changes about that, since a garnishment is often what sets the timing of a case. Schedule C asks you to claim your exemptions and cite the statute for each, so these answers belong in place before a petition is prepared.

Where can a Bent County resident get help?

Start with credit counseling: an individual petition is rejected or dismissed if the required approved course was not completed in the 180-day period ending on the filing date, and the exceptions are narrow. For help with the paperwork itself, the court points to a Colorado Bar Association pro se bankruptcy clinic offering limited-scope advice by phone or video, and to legal aid organizations including Colorado Legal Services and Metro Volunteer Lawyers. Attorneys, staff and volunteers associated with the Federal Pro Se Clinic may give short-term limited legal services to self-represented litigants before this court, and an attorney may provide pro bono help under a nonprofit or court-approved program without signing your documents or entering an appearance (COB Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2020-3). A non-attorney petition preparer may only type information onto the forms, must sign what they prepare, and is barred from giving legal advice; the court also publishes the preparers it has barred from this district.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to travel to Denver for my bankruptcy case?

Not for the meeting of creditors. All § 341 meetings in Chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases in the District of Colorado are held by Zoom, and debtors, counsel and creditors are told not to appear in person. Filings can be mailed or delivered in person, and self-represented parties may ask permission to file electronically through CM/ECF (COB GPO 2026-1). Hearings before a judge are a separate matter and depend on your case.

Can I file in Colorado if I only recently moved here?

Venue depends on where you have been for the greater part of the 180 days before filing, not simply where you live on the filing date. It runs to the district where your domicile, residence, principal place of business in the United States or principal assets have been located during that period (28 U.S.C. § 1408). A recent move, or a business in another state, can point to a different district.

What happens if I cannot pay the filing fee?

Every petition must arrive with full payment, an application to pay in installments, or — in a Chapter 7 case — an application to have the fee waived; a paper petition with none of the three is returned and no case is opened (COB GPO 2014-4(a)). A Chapter 7 waiver turns on income under 150 percent of the official poverty line and an inability to pay in installments, and Schedules I and J must accompany the application (D. Colo. L.B.R. 1006-1).

Can my meeting of creditors be moved?

The trustee decides, not the court. A written request to continue the meeting must reach the appointed trustee no later than seven days before the scheduled date, and it should not be filed with the court; if the trustee consents, you file and serve a notice of the continued meeting (D. Colo. L.B.R. 2003-1). A continuance does not automatically extend the deadlines to object to a discharge or to the dischargeability of a particular debt.

Can a non-attorney petition preparer handle the case for me?

No. A bankruptcy petition preparer's role in this district is to type information onto the official forms, which the court makes available without charge. Preparers cannot give legal advice, answer legal questions for you, assist in court proceedings, sign a document on your behalf, or take your court fees, and they must sign and identify themselves on what they prepare. The court publishes orders barring specific preparers from the district.

How do I decide whether to hire a lawyer?

The court's own guide says bankruptcy is a complex process and recommends retaining an attorney, while listing free and low-cost options for people who cannot afford one. A completed roadmap is a useful first step: it organises your income, debts, property and deadlines so a conversation with a lawyer or a legal aid clinic starts from facts. If you want an introduction to a participating firm admitted in this district, Arthur can arrange one with your consent.

Sources

• 28 U.S.C. § 85: "Colorado constitutes one judicial district." The District of Colorado is a single, undivided district administered from the sole clerk's office/divisional seat at Denver; cases are assigned to judges by random selection district-wide (L.B.R. 1073-1, "Cases are assigned to judges by random selection to the extent possible"), not by county. Grand Junction and Pueblo are statutory places for holding court (hearing locations) only, not county-assigning divisions. — Court assignment for Bent County, Colorado
• 28 U.S.C. § 1408 — Venue of cases under title 11
• 28 U.S.C. § 1334 — Bankruptcy cases and proceedings
• 11 U.S.C. § 341 — Meetings of creditors and equity security holders · official source
• 11 U.S.C. § 521 — Debtor's duties · official source
• 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1) — Chapter 7 filing fee · official source
• 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B) — Chapter 13 filing fee · official source
• Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8 — Administrative fee
• Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 9 — Chapter 7 trustee surcharge
• COB GPO 2025-1 — Electronic Self Representation (eSR) for self-represented Chapter 7 debtors
• COB GPO 2026-1 — Electronic filing for certain self-represented parties
• COB GPO 2014-4(a) — Installment payment requests and delegation to the clerk
• COB GPO 2021-1 — Chapter 13 fee general procedure order
• COB Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2020-3 — Federal Pro Se Clinic operations
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 1006-1 — Installment payments and filing fee waivers
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 1007-6 — Employee payment advices
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 2003-1 — Continuance of meeting of creditors and equity security holders
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 9011-4 — Signatures and contact information
• COB official page — 341 Meetings of Creditors by Zoom
• COB official material — Guide for Debtors Filing Bankruptcy Without an Attorney
• COB official material — Credit Counseling is required BEFORE you file for Bankruptcy
• COB official page — Chapter 7 Fee Waivers
• COB official page — Bankruptcy Petition Preparers
• COB official page — Chapter 13 Voluntary Petition Packet
• COB official material — What forms are required?

Related

• Build your personalised roadmap
• Wage garnishment in Colorado
• The 341 meeting of creditors: what actually happens
• Find your local bankruptcy court
• Find a bankruptcy lawyer by state

What it costs to file here

Chapter 7 — total court charges at filing

$338

28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1); Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8; Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 9

Chapter 13 — total court charges at filing

$313

28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B); Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8

Court charges only. What a lawyer charges is separate and varies by district and by case. Estimate the full cost →

Colorado median income

Median annual income, household of one

$87,940

USTP Median Family Income (2026-07-15 period)

The means test compares household income to the published median for the same household size. Being above it is not a bar to filing. Compare your household →