Local Rule 1002-1: Petition.

Rule 1002-1. Petition.

(a) Form. A petition shall conform to the appropriate official form and shall be typewritten. Only the original petition shall be filed (no copies).

(b) Other names used. In the answer to question 2 of the petition, an individual debtor shall include married and maiden names and any assumed, trade names and doing business as names. In the answer to question 4 of the petition, an individual debtor shall include any Employer Identification Number for a business the debtor presently operates as a sole proprietorship or previously operated as a sole proprietorship within eight years before filing the petition. In the answer to question 12 of the petition, an individual debtor shall include the business name and location only of a sole proprietorship the debtor presently operates. Any sole proprietorship listed in a debtor's answer to question 12 shall also be listed in the debtor's answer to question 2.

REFERENCES: 11 U.S.C. §§ 301 and 303; Fed.Rs.Bankr.P. 1002, 1005, 1006, 9004, 9009, and 9011; Official Forms 101, 101A, 101B, 105, 201, 201A, 202, and 205.

Practice Pointers: A checklist of filing requirements for each chapter may be found at Appendix 1A.

Always set forth an individual debtor's full legal name, including the debtor's full middle name, on a petition. If the debtor does not have a middle name, indicate that on the petition with "nmn." Do not include a corporation, a partnership, a limited liability company, or any other formal legal entity or organization in any answer to a question on the petition for an individual debtor.

If a married couple files a joint petition, only one joint debtor should be reflected on the petition as previously or presently operating a particular business as a sole proprietorship. If both joint debtors are associated with the same business, it indicates the couple operated the business as a partnership, not a sole proprietorship. However, a partnership is a legal entity that must file a separate petition to obtain bankruptcy relief.

When a partnership, corporation, or other formal legal entity is the debtor, set forth its full legal name on the petition, including any punctuation. For example, do not list the debtor as just "Bob's Café" if the business entity's full legal name is "Bob's Café and Catering, L.L.P." If appropriate, "Bob's Café" may be listed on the petition as an assumed name, a trade name, or a "doing business as" name for "Bob's Café and Catering, L.L.P."