Elbert County, Colorado

Which bankruptcy court hears a case from Elbert County?

Elbert County cases are filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado, and the verified assignment for this county is the Denver Division. Colorado constitutes one judicial district (28 U.S.C. § 85), administered from the sole clerk's office and divisional seat at Denver, so there is no county-by-county division map to work out. Cases are assigned to judges by random selection across the district rather than by where you live, and Grand Junction and Pueblo are statutory places for holding court rather than divisions that claim counties.

Where you file is a venue question. A case may be commenced in the district where your domicile, residence, principal place of business in the United States, or principal assets in the United States were located for the 180 days before filing, or for a longer portion of that period than any other district (28 U.S.C. § 1408). A recent move, or a business elsewhere, can change that answer.

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 a point that is easy to miss: where the Colorado local bankruptcy rules say "attorney", those duties apply to you when you file for yourself. The guide also says bankruptcy is a complex process and recommends retaining a lawyer, while providing chapter 7 and chapter 13 petition packets and checklists on the court's website.

Unrepresented parties may file in person with the clerk's office, by mail, through the approved filing tool on the court's website, or by facsimile; a self-represented individual debtor, creditor or party to an adversary proceeding may instead apply for permission to e-file through CM/ECF, and joint debtors must both apply (COB GPO 2026-1). Whatever route you use, every document must show your name, address, telephone number and email address below the signature line (D. Colo. L.B.R. 9011-4).

• The court runs a local Electronic Self Representation (eSR) module for self-represented individuals preparing a voluntary chapter 7 petition (COB GPO 2025-1).
• Submitting a package through eSR is not the filing of a petition and does not commence a case; a voluntary case is commenced by filing a petition with the bankruptcy court (11 U.S.C. § 301), and the court opens the case only after it receives the completed, hand-signed eSR Signature and Declaration Form and the signed Official Form B121.

What has to be filed, and when?

The court's checklists are specific about what arrives when. The petition (Official Form 101) opens the case, filed with your statement about your Social Security number (Official Form 121), the schedules, the statement of financial affairs, the declaration about your schedules, and a mailing list of all creditors in the format the court directs. Every individual debtor must also file a credit counseling certificate, and the counseling must be completed during the 180-day period ending on the date the petition is filed; the court warns that most debtors cannot meet the narrow conditions for completing it after filing, and that a case filed without counseling will be dismissed. Pay advices or other evidence of payment received within 60 days before filing are required, or the local statement that stands in for them (D. Colo. L.B.R. 1007-6). If the information required by 11 U.S.C. § 521 is not filed within 45 days of the petition, the case is automatically dismissed.

• Chapter 13 cases use the court's local chapter 13 plan form, Local Bankruptcy Form 3015-1.1.
• Several items are filed as separate entries rather than inside the petition PDF — the means-test forms, the statement of intention, the social security statement, and any installment or fee waiver application.
• Forms not filed with the petition must be filed no later than 14 days after it, or the case may be dismissed.

How does the meeting of creditors work in this district?

The meeting of creditors is a hearing every debtor must attend. The United States trustee convenes it, and the court may not preside at or attend it (11 U.S.C. § 341); in chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases the trustee assigned to your case conducts the meeting. In this district all § 341 meetings in chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases are held by Zoom, and the court tells debtors, counsel, creditors and parties in interest not to appear in person; it publishes each trustee's meeting ID, passcode and dedicated phone number. The court's page says the meeting usually occurs between 21 and 50 days after the filing of the petition. Before it, you must give the trustee a copy of your most recent federal income tax return, or a transcript, not later than 7 days before the date first set for the meeting (11 U.S.C. § 521).

• A request to continue the meeting goes to the trustee, not the court, and must reach the trustee no later than seven days before the scheduled meeting (D. Colo. L.B.R. 2003-1).
• If the trustee consents, you must immediately file a notice of the continued meeting, serve it on the trustee, creditors and parties in interest, and file a certificate of service; a continuance does not automatically extend the deadlines to object to discharge or to the dischargeability of a particular debt.

What does it cost to file, and how does the court take payment?

Two of these amounts are set by federal statute and work the same way in every district. The chapter 7 case filing fee is $245 (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1)) and the chapter 13 case filing fee is $235 (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)), each covering an individual or a joint case. On top of that, a $78 administrative fee is collected when a petition is filed (Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8), and a chapter 7 case also carries a $15 trustee payment (Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 9). The court's fees page is where to confirm what it is collecting today and how it will accept payment: filing fees can be paid by web payment using a debit card, PayPal or ACH, payment in person or by mail must be a cashier's check, money order or exact cash, and only attorneys may pay filing fees by credit card.

What local rules and orders change the process here?

The district's general procedure orders change the mechanics of filing more than most filers expect. Every voluntary petition must be accompanied by one of three things: full payment of the fee, an application to pay in installments (Official Form 103A), or — in chapter 7 only — an application to have the fee waived (Official Form 103B). A paper petition satisfying none of the three is returned and no case is opened; in an electronic case where the documents or fee supporting the chosen option are not filed the same day, the case is dismissed for failing the court's minimum filing requirements (COB GPO 2014-4(a)). The first installment is due no later than 14 days from the petition filing date. A waiver application must include pay advices or the local statement, completed Schedules I and J, and the court's supplemental information exhibit covering income, garnishments in the 30 days before filing, and what you paid for bankruptcy services (D. Colo. L.B.R. 1006-1).

• Where a trustee has filed a Notice of Possible Dividends, the court stays its automatic dismissal process for non-payment of the filing fee for 180 days (COB GPO 2015-1).

Which Colorado questions should you settle before filing?

Three Colorado questions shape a consumer case more than anything in the local rules: which exemption list applies to you, what conditions attach to the state homestead exemption, and how much of your wages state law protects from a garnishment. The sources behind this page are the District of Colorado's own rules, orders and official pages together with the federal provisions cited above. They do not include Colorado's exemption or wage statutes, so this page cannot state those amounts or their conditions — that is a limit of this page's evidence, not a conclusion that the law is silent or that the federal Code has nothing to say.

Settle those questions before filing rather than after. Exemptions are claimed on a schedule filed with the petition (Official Form 106C), and the court's own sanctions record treats choosing which exemption statute to cite there as legal advice that a non-attorney preparer may not give.

Where can an Elbert County resident get help?

Court staff cannot make the call for you: the court's guide states that staff are prohibited from providing advice to parties about their rights in a case or proceeding before it. What the court does point to is the Colorado Bar Association's free Pro Se Bankruptcy Clinic, which gives limited-scope legal advice by phone or video appointment to people without lawyers and counsels on eligibility, drafting petitions, schedules and responses, court procedures and forms, and preparation for meetings of creditors. Attorneys, staff and volunteers associated with the Federal Pro Se Clinic may also provide short-term limited legal services to self-represented litigants before the bankruptcy court, and an attorney may give pro bono advice through a nonprofit organization or court-approved program without signing a document or entering an appearance (COB Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2020-3). The guide also lists Colorado Legal Services, Metro Volunteer Lawyers, Southwest Bar Volunteer Legal Aid and Weld County Legal Services.

• If you retain counsel in a chapter 13 case, the court sets a presumptively reasonable fee allowance for the debtor's attorney by general procedure order, and costs above the threshold it sets are treated as extraordinary and need a supplemental fee application (COB GPO 2021-1).
• Bankruptcy.law is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Arthur, our AI Navigator, can help you organize what you have into a roadmap, and an introduction to a firm admitted in this district happens only if you ask for one.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to travel to Denver for my meeting of creditors?

No — in the District of Colorado all § 341 meetings of creditors in chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases are held by Zoom, and the court instructs debtors, counsel, creditors and parties in interest not to appear in person. The trustee assigned to your case conducts the meeting; the judge may not preside at or attend it (11 U.S.C. § 341). The court publishes each trustee's meeting ID, passcode and dedicated phone number.

I moved to Elbert County recently. Can I file in Colorado?

That depends on the 180 days before you file, not on today's address alone. A case may be commenced where your domicile, residence, principal place of business in the United States, or principal assets in the United States were located for that period, or for a longer portion of it than any other district (28 U.S.C. § 1408). A recent move or a business in another state can change the answer, and this page cannot decide it for you.

What if I cannot pay the filing fee when I file?

Your petition must still arrive with one of three things: the full fee, an application to pay in installments (Official Form 103A), or a chapter 7 fee waiver application (Official Form 103B). The first installment is due no later than 14 days from the petition filing date, and any order granting a waiver is conditional and subject to further investigation. The court's waiver page describes a standard based on income below 150 percent of the official poverty line and inability to pay in installments.

Is credit counseling really required before filing?

Yes — the court's notice states the pre-filing credit counseling course must be completed during the 180-day period ending on the date your petition is filed. The court warns that most debtors will not meet the narrow conditions for completing it after filing, because counseling is readily available in this district, and that a case filed without it will be dismissed. Approved providers are listed on the Department of Justice website.

Can a non-attorney petition preparer prepare my forms?

A petition preparer may type your information onto the official forms, nothing more. The court's guidance says preparers are barred by law from giving legal advice — they cannot explain how to answer legal questions or assist in bankruptcy court proceedings — must sign what they prepare and print their name and address on it, cannot sign a document on your behalf, and cannot receive your court fees. The court also publishes a list of preparers barred in this district.

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. — Judicial district and case assignment, District of Colorado
• 28 U.S.C. § 1408 — Venue of cases under title 11
• 11 U.S.C. § 301 — Voluntary cases
• 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 case filing fee · official source
• 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B) — Chapter 13 case filing fee · official source
• Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8 — Administrative fee
• Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 9 — Chapter 7 trustee payment
• COB official material — Guide for Debtors Filing Bankruptcy Without an Attorney
• COB official page — Filing Without an Attorney
• 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
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 9011-4 — Signatures and contact information
• COB official material — What forms are required?
• COB official material — Requirements for a Complete Voluntary Petition
• COB official material — Credit Counseling is required BEFORE you file for Bankruptcy
• COB official page — Credit Counseling & Debtor Education Courses
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 1007-6 — Employee payment advices
• COB official page — Chapter 13 Voluntary Petition Packet
• COB official page — Chapter 7 Voluntary Petition Packet
• COB official page — 341 Meetings of Creditors by Zoom
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 2003-1 — Continuance of meeting of creditors and equity security holders
• COB GPO 2014-4(a) — Installment payment requests and delegation to the clerk
• COB Amended GPO 2014-4(b) — Fee waiver requests and supplemental information exhibit
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 1006-1 — Installment payments and filing fee waivers
• COB GPO 2015-1 — Staying dismissal of certain cases for failure to pay filing fee
• COB official page — Fees
• COB official page — Online Payments
• COB official page — Chapter 7 Fee Waivers
• COB GPO 2021-1 — Chapter 13 fee general procedure order
• COB Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2020-3 — Federal Pro Se Clinic operations
• COB official page — Bankruptcy Petition Preparers
• COB petition-preparer restriction — Sarah Woodson (17-12218-EEB, docket #41, dated 11/15/2017)

Related

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• The 341 meeting of creditors: what actually happens
• Continuance in bankruptcy: moving a meeting or hearing
• Filing bankruptcy in Arapahoe County, Colorado
• 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 →