Kiowa County, Colorado

Which bankruptcy court hears a case from Kiowa County?

A bankruptcy case from Kiowa County is filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado, which is administered from Denver. The structure matters because it is unusual: Colorado "constitutes one judicial district" (28 U.S.C. § 85), and that district is not carved into county-assigning divisions. Cases are assigned to judges by random selection across the whole district (L.B.R. 1073-1), not according to where you live, and Grand Junction and Pueblo are statutory places for holding court — hearing locations rather than separate divisions. Residence alone is not the whole venue rule. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1408 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 sat for the 180 days before filing, or for the greater part of that period than any other district. A recent move or a business elsewhere can change the 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 says plainly that any reference to "attorney" in the Colorado Local Bankruptcy Rules applies to you when you file your own case. Its companion page, Filing Without an Attorney, and the court's required-forms material set out the opening package: the voluntary petition (Official Form 101), your statement about social security numbers (Official Form 121), Schedules A/B through J, the statement of financial affairs (Official Form 107), and, in chapter 7, the statement of intention (Official Form 108) with the statement of your current monthly income (Official Form 122A-1). Credit counseling comes first. The court's written notice states that the course must be completed during the 180-day period ending on the date the petition is filed, and that a case filed without it will be dismissed unless the narrow statutory exception is certified with the petition.

How does the meeting of creditors work in this district?

The meeting of creditors is a hearing every debtor must attend. Under 11 U.S.C. § 341 the United States trustee convenes and presides over it, the judge may not preside at or attend it, and in a chapter 7 case the trustee must orally examine you before the meeting ends — about the consequences of seeking a discharge, the effect of a discharge, and the effect of reaffirming a debt. In this district the assigned trustee conducts chapter 7, 12 and 13 meetings, and the court's 341 Meetings of Creditors by Zoom page states that all of those meetings are held by Zoom and that debtors, counsel, creditors and parties in interest should not appear in person. The same page describes the meeting as usually occurring between 21 and 50 days after the petition is filed, depending on the chapter. That remote format matters from Kiowa County.

What local rules and orders change the process here?

Several Colorado-specific orders change the mechanics rather than the law. COB GPO 2025-1 authorises the court's Electronic Self Representation (eSR) module for self-represented individual chapter 7 debtors to prepare a petition online, and it is explicit that electronic submission does not commence a case: the case is opened only after the court receives hand-signed originals of the eSR Signature and Declaration Form and Official Form 121. COB GPO 2026-1 amends the local electronic-filing rule so unrepresented parties may file in person or by mail, or apply for permission to file through CM/ECF using the Self-represented E-Filing Application. D. Colo. L.B.R. 9011-4 requires your name, address, telephone number and email below your signature on everything you file, with prompt notice of changes. D. Colo. L.B.R. 1007-6 requires your pay advices, or a statement about them on the court's local form.

• Chapter 13 cases use the court's own plan form, Local Bankruptcy Form 3015-1.1, listed in the Chapter 13 Voluntary Petition Packet.
• COB GPO 2021-1 sets a presumptively reasonable total fee allowance for a chapter 13 debtor's attorney covering costs through confirmation; the order itself carries the figure.
• COB Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2020-3 lets Federal Pro Se Clinic attorneys and volunteers give short-term limited legal services without signing your documents or entering an appearance.
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 2003-1 makes the trustee, not the court, the one who approves a request to continue your meeting of creditors.

What will the court charge to open a case?

The federal filing fees are the same in every county, and they are not the only line items. A chapter 7 case carries a $245 filing fee (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1)), plus a $78 administrative fee (Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8) and a $15 trustee payment (Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 9). A chapter 13 case carries a $235 filing fee (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)) plus the same $78 administrative fee. Confirm the current total against the court's own Fees page before you pay, because fee schedules are revised. COB GPO 2014-4(a) requires every voluntary petition to arrive with one of three things: full payment, an application to pay in installments (Official Form 103A), or a chapter 7 fee waiver application (Official Form 103B). A paper petition without one of those is returned and no case is opened; an electronic one is dismissed.

What if you cannot pay the court's fee up front?

The court has two routes, and they are not the same. An individual may apply to pay the fee in installments on Official Form 103A under D. Colo. L.B.R. 1006-1; COB GPO 2014-4(a) requires the first installment no later than fourteen days from the petition date, with later amounts and dates taken from the schedule published on the court's website. The clerk may deny that application where the court's records show a prior Colorado case dismissed with filing fees unpaid. Separately, the court's Chapter 7 Fee Waivers page states that the chapter 7 filing fee may be waived for an individual debtor whose income is less than 150 percent of the official poverty line and who is unable to pay in installments, and that the debtor carries the burden on the application. That request also needs pay advices and completed Schedules I and J, plus the supplemental exhibit required by COB Amended GPO 2014-4(b). Any waiver order is conditional.

Which Colorado questions should you settle before filing?

Three Colorado questions are worth settling before you file, and this page will not pretend to resolve them. Which exemption list applies to you shapes what you keep; the homestead exemption carries conditions rather than a single flat answer; and how much of your wages is shielded from garnishment governs the pressure you are under right now. The sources assembled for this page are the District of Colorado's own rules, orders and official pages plus federal provisions, and they do not include Colorado's exemption or garnishment statutes. That is a limit of this page's evidence, not a conclusion about what the law says, so this page cannot answer those three questions from the sources supplied. What the court does require is that you claim exemptions yourself, on Schedule C, listing the property you claim as exempt. One warning from the court's own record is worth carrying: in a Colorado sanctions order, a petition preparer who chose the exemption statutes for a debtor was found to have given legal advice.

Where can a Kiowa County resident get help?

Court staff cannot advise you: the court's guide says expressly that staff are prohibited from giving advice about your rights in a case before the court. What exists instead is a clinic. The guide describes a free Pro Se Bankruptcy Clinic run through the Colorado Bar Association that gives limited-scope legal advice by phone or video appointment to people without lawyers, and counsels on drafting petitions, schedules and responses, on court procedures, orders, rules and forms, and on preparing for the meeting of creditors. COB Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2020-3 is what authorises those attorneys and volunteers to help without signing your documents. The guide also lists Colorado Legal Services, Metro Volunteer Lawyers, Southwest Bar Volunteer Legal Aid and Weld County Legal Services. From Kiowa County, remote appointments and the mail filing option both matter. Arthur, the Bankruptcy.law AI Navigator, can help you organise what you have and build a roadmap, and can offer an introduction to a bankruptcy lawyer admitted in this district. We are not a law firm and do not give legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

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

No — the court's 341 Meetings of Creditors by Zoom page states that all section 341 meetings in chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases are held by Zoom, and that debtors, counsel, creditors and parties in interest should not appear in person. The assigned trustee conducts the meeting. The same page describes it as usually happening between 21 and 50 days after the petition is filed.

Can I prepare my chapter 7 petition online without a lawyer?

Yes, through the court's Electronic Self Representation module. COB GPO 2025-1 authorises eSR exclusively for self-represented individual debtors preparing voluntary chapter 7 cases, and it is explicit that electronic submission does not commence a case: the court opens the case only after it receives hand-signed originals of the eSR Signature and Declaration Form and Official Form 121.

Can I file on paper or by mail instead?

Yes. COB GPO 2026-1 amends the local electronic-filing rule so that unrepresented parties may file documents in person with the clerk's office or by mail unless the court orders otherwise. The same order lets an unrepresented individual debtor, creditor or adversary-proceeding party apply for permission to file electronically through CM/ECF using the Self-represented E-Filing Application; joint debtors must both apply.

Does continuing my meeting of creditors push back my other deadlines?

No. D. Colo. L.B.R. 2003-1 states that a continuance of the meeting of creditors does not automatically extend the deadline to object to a debtor's discharge or to the dischargeability of a particular debt; those extensions must be requested separately. The same rule puts a continuance request in the trustee's hands rather than the court's, served on the trustee at least seven days before the scheduled meeting.

Can a non-attorney petition preparer fill out my forms?

Yes, but only as a typist. The court's page on bankruptcy petition preparers states that preparers are barred by law from providing legal advice, cannot explain how to answer legal questions or assist in court proceedings, must sign the documents they prepare and furnish copies to you, and cannot receive payment from you for court fees. The court also publishes a list of preparers barred in this district.

Does living in Kiowa County mean my case must be filed in Colorado?

Usually, but residence is not the whole rule. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1408 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 the 180 days before filing, or for the greater part of that period than any other district. A recent move or a business in another state can change that.

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 Kiowa County, Colorado
• 28 U.S.C. § 1408 — Venue of cases under title 11
• 11 U.S.C. § 341 — Meetings of creditors and equity security holders · official source
• COB official material — Guide for Debtors Filing Bankruptcy Without an Attorney
• COB official page — Filing Without an Attorney
• COB official material — What forms are required?
• COB official material — Credit Counseling is required BEFORE you file for Bankruptcy
• COB official page — 341 Meetings of Creditors by Zoom
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 2003-1
• COB GPO 2025-1
• COB GPO 2026-1
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 9011-4
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 1007-6
• COB GPO 2021-1
• COB official page — Chapter 13 Voluntary Petition Packet
• COB Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2020-3
• COB official page — Fees
• COB GPO 2014-4(a)
• COB Amended GPO 2014-4(b)
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 1006-1
• COB official page — Chapter 7 Fee Waivers
• COB official page — Bankruptcy Petition Preparers
• COB petition-preparer restriction — Sarah Woodson (17-12218-EEB, docket #41, dated 11/15/2017)
• 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(A), (f)(1) · official source
• 28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B) · official source
• Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8
• Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 9

Related

• Find your local bankruptcy court
• Build your personalised roadmap
• The 341 Meeting of Creditors: What Actually Happens
• Statutes and rules library
• Filing bankruptcy in Cheyenne County, Colorado

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 →