Some bankruptcy cases can wait. Some can't. When a client comes to you with a foreclosure sale on Friday or wages already being garnished, the filing date is what matters — the automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362 stops most collection the moment the case is filed. The problem is that a full petition takes time your client doesn't have. That's what the emergency, or 'skeleton,' filing is for.
When an emergency filing makes sense
- A foreclosure sale scheduled in days
- Active wage garnishment or a bank levy
- An imminent vehicle repossession
- A utility shut-off or eviction where the stay buys time
- Any hard deadline where filing now protects the client
What a skeleton petition actually is
A skeleton filing is the minimum the court requires to open the case and trigger the stay: the voluntary petition, the creditor matrix, and the required initial lists — enough to establish the filing date. The full schedules, statements, and (for Chapter 13) the plan follow within the deadline the rules allow, typically 14 days. The client gets protection now; the complete package comes right behind it.
Where the time really goes
The bottleneck on an emergency filing is rarely the drafting — it's assembling the client's basic information and getting the pre-filing credit-counseling certificate, then your review and signature. A paralegal who does this every day can turn a skeleton petition around in 24 to 48 hours once the essentials are in hand, and keep the full schedules moving on the normal clock so nothing slips.
Keeping it clean
Emergencies are exactly when corners get cut and errors creep in. The safeguard is the same as any other case: the paralegal prepares, the attorney reviews and signs, and the attorney makes every legal call. Done right, an emergency filing protects your client and your practice.
If you've got a client up against a deadline, that's exactly the kind of work we help with — a filing-ready skeleton petition to establish the filing date and trigger the stay, with the full schedules to follow. Tell us the deadline and we'll build the plan around it.
How we help attorneys
We prepare Chapter 7, 13, and 11 petitions and plans — filing-ready in your software, under your supervision.
Paralegal Bankruptcy Services is a 100% U.S.-based bankruptcy paralegal firm working exclusively for licensed attorneys and law firms. Chapter 7 preparation is $300 per case for a personal filing and $400 for a business filing, or $410 with extended case management through discharge. Chapter 13 is $400 per case, or $500 with plan drafting. Chapter 11 is billed at $90 per hour, and our general rate for overflow, amendments, and routine work is $70 per hour. An emergency skeleton petition to trigger the automatic stay is $175, with full schedules to follow. Chapter 7 cases come back in 7 days and Chapter 13 in 10, once we have a complete intake package. Our paralegals draft directly inside your Best Case, Jubilee, or NextChapter account, so nothing is re-keyed. We carry errors and omissions and cyber liability insurance, and our team of six is bilingual in English and Spanish.
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Services are provided exclusively to licensed attorneys and law firms. We are not a bankruptcy petition preparer and do not provide legal advice or services to the public. This article is general information, not legal advice.