Montrose County, Colorado

Which bankruptcy court hears a case from Montrose County?

Montrose County sits in the District of Colorado, and no division question arises: 28 U.S.C. § 85 provides that "Colorado constitutes one judicial district." The district is single and undivided, administered from one clerk's office at Denver, and under L.B.R. 1073-1 "cases are assigned to judges by random selection to the extent possible" across the district rather than by county. Grand Junction and Pueblo are statutory places for holding court, meaning hearing locations, not divisions that route cases by county.

Your county does not decide venue either. 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 (28 U.S.C. § 1408), so a recent move or a business elsewhere can change the answer; residence alone is not the whole rule.

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

The district publishes a Guide for Debtors Filing Bankruptcy Without an Attorney, and it says something easy to miss: where the Colorado local rules say "attorney," that reference applies to you if you file without one. The court also warns that staff cannot advise you about your rights, and it recommends retaining counsel.

Two orders set out how you may actually file. General Procedure Order 2025-1 authorizes the court's Electronic Self Representation (eSR) module for self-represented individual chapter 7 debtors only, and is explicit that submitting a petition package through eSR does not file the petition or commence the case; the case opens only after the clerk receives hand-signed originals of the eSR Signature and Declaration Form and Official Form B121. General Procedure Order 2026-1 lets unrepresented parties file in person, by mail, through the filing tool on the court's website, or by applying to e-file in CM/ECF; joint debtors must both apply.

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(a) the United States trustee convenes and presides, and the court describes the practical result: in chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases the trustee assigned to your case conducts the meeting, and it is held outside the judge's presence. Section 341(c) bars the court from presiding at or attending it. The court's own page says the meeting usually occurs between 21 and 50 days after the petition is filed.

In this district 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. Expect questions under oath: § 341(d) requires the trustee to examine a chapter 7 debtor about the consequences of a discharge, the option of a different chapter, and reaffirmation.

Which local rules and standing orders change the process here?

Local rules and standing orders are where this district's practice differs most from the bare federal text, and most of them bite before your case is a week old. The court's warning notice on credit counseling states that voluntary petitions will be rejected if counseling was not completed during the 180-day period ending on the filing date, unless a statutory exemption applies. Its checklist for a complete voluntary petition, and its separate chapter 7 and chapter 13 packets, list the official forms, the creditor mailing matrix and the counseling certificate the clerk expects. Chapter 13 filers use the district's own plan form, Local Bankruptcy Form 3015-1.1. L.B.R. 1007-6 requires payment advices or a conforming statement. If you need the § 341 meeting moved, D. Colo. L.B.R. 2003-1 directs the request to the trustee rather than the court, in writing, received at least seven days before the scheduled meeting. L.B.R. 9011-4 governs signatures and contact information.

What are the filing fees, and what if you cannot pay them up front?

The statutory filing fee comes from 28 U.S.C. § 1930, and the clerk collects additional amounts set by the Judicial Conference fee schedule. A chapter 7 individual or joint 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 surcharge (Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 9), both effective December 1, 2023. A chapter 13 case carries a $235 filing fee (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)) plus the same $78 administrative fee. The court's fee page publishes what the clerk collects and is the place to confirm current figures before you pay.

If you cannot pay up front, General Procedure Order 2014-4(a) requires every voluntary petition to arrive with full payment, an installment application, or a chapter 7 fee waiver application; a paper petition without one of those is returned and no case is opened.

Which Colorado questions should you settle before you file?

Three Colorado questions shape what filing actually does for you, and they are better settled before you file than after. Which exemption list applies to your case, and what that choice does to everything downstream. What conditions attach to Colorado's homestead exemption, since a homestead figure without its conditions is not an answer. And how much of your pay a creditor can reach while you are still deciding.

This page cannot answer those three from the sources behind it. Its packet is the District of Colorado's own filing material plus the federal provisions, not the Colorado exemption statutes, and that is a limit of this page's evidence rather than a statement about what the law provides. The screeners and the Colorado material under Tools and Guides carry the cited amounts with their conditions, so you can run your own numbers before you commit to a chapter.

Where can a Montrose County resident get help?

The district's pro se guide is explicit that court staff cannot give you advice about your rights, and it recommends retaining an attorney. It also lists the help the court itself points to. The Colorado Bar Association's Pro Se Bankruptcy Clinic is described in the guide as a free program giving limited-scope legal advice by phone or video appointment to people without lawyers, covering eligibility, drafting petitions and schedules, court procedures and preparation for meetings of creditors; the guide gives 720-633-8866 and cobar.org/bankruptcy. The guide also lists Colorado Legal Services (303-837-1321), Metro Volunteer Lawyers (303-871-6140), Southwest Bar Volunteer Legal Aid (970-247-0266) and Weld County Legal Services (970-356-4356). Administrative Order 2020-3 extended the Federal Pro Se Clinic's short-term limited legal services to litigants before the bankruptcy court. The clerk's office is at 721 19th Street, Denver, CO 80202; the court publishes its hours and a 720-904-7300 phone number.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to travel to Denver to file or to attend my 341 meeting?

Not for the meeting of creditors: the District of Colorado holds all § 341 meetings in chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases by Zoom, and instructs debtors, counsel, creditors and parties in interest not to appear in person. For filing, General Procedure Order 2026-1 lets unrepresented parties file in person, by mail, through the filing tool on the court's website, or by applying to e-file in CM/ECF.

Can I use the court's eSR system to file a chapter 13 case?

No. General Procedure Order 2025-1 authorizes eSR exclusively for self-represented individual debtors preparing voluntary chapter 7 cases. It also warns that submitting a package through eSR does not file the petition or commence the case; the clerk opens the case only after receiving hand-signed originals of the eSR Signature and Declaration Form and Official Form B121.

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

You file an application instead. General Procedure Order 2014-4(a) requires full payment, an installment application, or a chapter 7 fee waiver application with the petition, and sets the first installment no later than fourteen days from the petition filing date. L.B.R. 1006-1 requires a waiver application to include pay advices and completed Schedules I and J, and any waiver order is conditional and subject to further investigation.

Can a non-attorney petition preparer help with my case?

A petition preparer may type information onto the official forms, which the court publishes without charge, and must sign what they prepare. The court states they are barred by law from giving legal advice, cannot sign a document on your behalf, and cannot receive your court fees. The court also publishes the presumptive reasonable fee for that work and a list of preparers barred in the District of Colorado.

Does this district set what a chapter 13 attorney can charge?

It sets a presumption rather than a cap. General Procedure Order 2021-1 establishes a presumptively reasonable total fee allowance for a chapter 13 debtor's attorney, covering all costs incurred through confirmation, with costs above a set threshold treated as extraordinary and requiring a supplemental fee application. The order applies by filing date, so earlier cases remain under the earlier orders it names.

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 Montrose 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
• 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 — Implementing Electronic Self Representation (eSR) for self-represented individual chapter 7 debtors
• COB GPO 2026-1 — Implementing electronic filing for certain self-represented parties
• COB GPO 2014-4(a) — Installment payment requests and additional 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. 2003-1 — Continuance of meeting of creditors and equity security holders
• 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. 9011-4 — Signatures and contact information
• COB official material — Guide for Debtors Filing Bankruptcy Without an Attorney
• COB official page — 341 Meetings of Creditors by Zoom
• COB official material — Credit Counseling is required BEFORE you file for Bankruptcy
• COB official material — Requirements for a Complete Voluntary Petition
• COB official page — Chapter 7 Voluntary Petition Packet
• COB official page — Chapter 13 Voluntary Petition Packet
• COB official page — Bankruptcy Petition Preparers
• COB official page — Fees
• COB official page — Court Location

Related

• Find your local bankruptcy court
• Build your personalised roadmap
• Bankruptcy tools and screeners
• The 341 meeting of creditors: what actually happens
• Filing bankruptcy in Delta County, Colorado
• Guides by topic

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 →