Prowers County, Colorado

Which bankruptcy court hears a case from Prowers County?

A consumer case filed from Prowers County is a District of Colorado case. Colorado constitutes one judicial district (28 U.S.C. § 85), and that district is administered from a single clerk's office and divisional seat at Denver, so no separate division takes cases county by county. Cases are assigned to judges by random selection across the whole district, under the local rule on assignment of cases adopted by the court (COB Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2021-2). Grand Junction and Pueblo are statutory places for holding court — hearing locations — not county-assigning divisions. Venue is a separate 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 greater part of the 180 days immediately preceding filing (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 of someone filing without a lawyer?

The court publishes a guide for debtors filing without an attorney, and it says plainly that any reference to "attorney" in the Colorado local rules applies to you, and that court staff cannot advise you about your rights in your own case (COB official material — Guide for Debtors Filing Bankruptcy Without an Attorney). Unrepresented parties may file in person with the clerk's office, by mail, through the filing tool on the court's website, or by facsimile, and may ask permission to file electronically through CM/ECF using the Self-represented E-Filing Application; joint debtors must both seek permission (COB GPO 2026-1). Self-represented individual Chapter 7 debtors may also prepare a petition through the court's Electronic Self Representation module, but submitting that package is not the filing of a petition: the case opens only after the clerk receives hand-signed originals of the eSR Signature and Declaration Form and the official statement about social security numbers (COB GPO 2025-1).

How does the meeting of creditors work in this district?

The meeting of creditors is the one appearance nearly every debtor makes. The United States trustee convenes and presides at the meeting within a reasonable time after the order for relief (11 U.S.C. § 341(a)), and the judge may not preside at or attend it (11 U.S.C. § 341(c)). The court explains that in Chapter 7, 12 and 13 cases the trustee assigned to the case conducts the meeting, that it usually occurs between 21 and 50 days after the petition is filed, and that all of these meetings are held by Zoom — debtors, counsel and creditors should not appear in person (COB official page — 341 Meetings of Creditors by Zoom). The trustee examines you orally before the meeting concludes, including about the effect of a discharge and of reaffirming a debt (11 U.S.C. § 341(d)). Give the trustee your most recent federal tax return, or a transcript, not later than 7 days before the first scheduled meeting (11 U.S.C. § 521).

What local rules and orders change the process here?

Several District of Colorado rules and standing orders change the mechanics rather than the law. A request to continue your meeting of creditors goes to the trustee, not the court: it must be in writing, served on the trustee, and received no later than seven days before the scheduled meeting, and if the trustee consents you then file and serve a notice of the continued meeting with a certificate of service; a continuance does not automatically extend the deadlines to object to discharge or dischargeability (D. Colo. L.B.R. 2003-1). Every document you file must carry your name, address, telephone number and email address below your signature line, and you must notify the court promptly when that information changes (D. Colo. L.B.R. 9011-4). You must file the required payment advices or the court's local statement about them (D. Colo. L.B.R. 1007-6). Chapter 13 filers use the court's own local plan form (COB official page — Chapter 13 Voluntary Petition Packet).

What do the filing fees cost, and what if you cannot pay at once?

The filing fees are federal. Chapter 7 carries a $245 statutory 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). Chapter 13's statutory filing fee is $235 (28 U.S.C. § 1930(a)(1)(B)), with the same $78 administrative fee (Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, Item 8). Confirm the current total on the court's fee page before you pay (COB official page — Fees). Every voluntary petition must arrive with full payment, an application to pay in installments (Official Form 103A), or a Chapter 7 fee waiver application (Official Form 103B); a paper petition missing all three is returned unfiled, and the first installment is due no later than fourteen days from the petition filing date (COB GPO 2014-4(a)). A waiver application must include your pay advices and completed Schedules I and J, and any order granting it is conditional (D. Colo. L.B.R. 1006-1).

Which Colorado questions should you settle before filing?

Two things are worth settling before you file. First, credit counseling: the court's notice states that the pre-filing counseling course must be completed during the 180-day period ending on the date your petition is filed, that voluntary petitions will be rejected when it is not, and that most debtors will not meet the narrow conditions for completing the course after filing because counseling is readily available in this district (COB official material — Credit Counseling is required BEFORE you file for Bankruptcy; COB official page — Credit Counseling & Debtor Education Courses). Second, the Colorado questions: which exemption list you may claim, what conditions attach to a homestead exemption, and how much of your wages a creditor can reach. Those answers turn on figures this page's sources do not carry — the District of Colorado's filing materials and the federal provisions above — so this page cannot answer them from the supplied sources, and that is a limit of this evidence, not a conclusion about the law.

Where can a Prowers County resident get help?

Court staff cannot advise you about your rights in your own case. The court's guide points instead to free or lower-cost help, including the Colorado Bar Association's Pro Se Bankruptcy Clinic, which the guide describes as giving limited-scope legal advice by phone or video appointment on drafting petitions and schedules, court procedures and preparing for the meeting of creditors, and it lists legal-aid organizations serving Colorado (COB official material — Guide for Debtors Filing Bankruptcy Without an Attorney). A separate order lets attorneys and volunteers of the Federal Pro Se Clinic give short-term limited legal services to self-represented parties before this court, including pro bono advice under a court-approved program without signing documents or entering an appearance (COB Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2020-3). If you retain Chapter 13 counsel, the court has set a presumptively reasonable fee allowance for a debtor's attorney (COB GPO 2021-1). Arthur, this site's AI Navigator, can build your roadmap; nothing reaches a firm unless you ask for an introduction.

Frequently asked questions

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

No. The court states that all meetings of creditors 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 (COB official page — 341 Meetings of Creditors by Zoom). The meeting is still mandatory, and the trustee assigned to your case conducts it rather than a judge.

Can I file in Colorado if I moved here recently?

Possibly — venue follows where you have been, not only where you live now. 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 greater part of the 180 days immediately preceding filing (28 U.S.C. § 1408). A move inside that window can leave venue in your former district.

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

You file a payment application together with the petition. Every voluntary petition must arrive with full payment, an application to pay the fee in installments, or — in Chapter 7 — an application to have the filing fee waived; the first installment is due no later than fourteen days from the petition filing date (COB GPO 2014-4(a)). Installment payments can be made by debit card, PayPal or ACH (COB official page — Online Payments).

Who can have the Chapter 7 filing fee waived?

The district court or the bankruptcy court may waive the Chapter 7 filing fee for an individual debtor whose income is less than 150 percent of the official poverty line applicable to a family of that size and who is unable to pay the fee in installments. The debtor carries the burden of showing that the application should be granted (COB official page — Chapter 7 Fee Waivers).

What if my case falls behind on the filing fee?

The court stays its automatic dismissal process for non-payment of filing fees for 180 days in any case where the trustee has filed a Notice of Possible Dividends. That stay lifts if the trustee requests dismissal or withdraws the notice, or if the debtor or another party in interest files a motion to dismiss and the court determines dismissal is appropriate (COB GPO 2015-1).

Can a non-attorney prepare my petition?

A bankruptcy petition preparer may type information onto the official forms and nothing more. The district's guidance says preparers are barred from providing legal advice, cannot explain how to answer legal questions or assist in court proceedings, must sign what they prepare and furnish copies to you, and cannot take payment from you for court fees. The court also publishes a list of preparers barred in this district (COB official page — Bankruptcy Petition Preparers).

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 divisional organization of 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
• 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 Administrative Order of the Chief Judge 2021-2 — Adopting amended Local Bankruptcy Rules, Forms, and Appendices
• COB GPO 2025-1 — Electronic Self Representation (eSR) for self-represented individual 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 2015-1 — Staying dismissal of certain cases for failure to pay the filing fee
• 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 material — Guide for Debtors Filing Bankruptcy Without an Attorney
• COB official page — 341 Meetings of Creditors by Zoom
• COB official page — Fees
• COB official page — Chapter 7 Fee Waivers
• COB official page — Online Payments
• COB official page — Bankruptcy Petition Preparers
• COB official page — Chapter 13 Voluntary Petition Packet
• 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. 2003-1 — Continuance of meeting of creditors and equity security holders
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 9011-4 — Signatures and contact information
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 1006-1 — Installment payments and filing fee waivers
• D. Colo. L.B.R. 1007-6 — Employee payment advices

Related

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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 →