Time Frame

• If you're a relatively new arrival in Pennsylvania, you should make sure it's the right state in which to file bankruptcy. The U.S. Code states that you should file in the state where you've lived for the past 180 days; if you've lived in more than one state, it should be the one where you've spent the greatest part of that period. If you moved to Pennsylvania two months ago, after four months in Idaho, you have to file an Idaho bankruptcy.
  
  

Income

• In Chapter 7, the court will liquidate much of your cash and assets, pay off some of your debts and wipe out many of the rest. In Chapter 13, you spend three or five years paying off your debts before any of them are erased. To qualify for Chapter 7, your income for the six months before you file must be lower than the Pennsylvania median income. If your income is higher, you can try to pass a means test that subtracts living expenses from your income. The Nolo legal site offers an online means test calculator.
  
  

Exemptions

• Like other states, Pennsylvania exempts some of your assets from Chapter 7 sale; you can use either the Pennsylvania or the federal government exemptions to protect your property. Pennsylvania offers no protection for your home and only exempts a few kinds of personal property, such as clothes and Bibles; you do get a $300 "wild card" exemption you can apply to any property. The federal exemptions will protect more of your assets. If you think the court would end up selling assets you want to keep, consider filing Chapter 13 instead.
  
  

Filing

• You can download forms from the U.S. Courts website and file them with the bankruptcy court for your district. The federal government maintains bankruptcy courts in Philadelphia, Reading, Harrisburg, Wilkes Barre, Erie and Pittsburgh. When you file, you'll have to submit an exhaustive list of your creditors, debts, expenses, assets and income. Trying to conceal assets or hide other information would be grounds for the court to reject your petition, in which case you couldn't file for bankruptcy again for six months.