Filing in Colorado · Colorado Springs and Pueblo
Bankruptcy in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, including for military families
Colorado Springs is more than an hour from the bankruptcy courthouse in Denver, and Pueblo is farther. That distance mostly does not matter anymore. Colorado 341 meetings are held by video, filing is electronic, and my practice is remote first, so a case for someone in Fountain or Pueblo runs the same way as one for someone in the metro.
I do not have an office in Colorado Springs or Pueblo, and I will not pretend otherwise. I serve clients throughout the state, and everything happens by phone, video and a secure portal, which I explain on the firm page.
How the firm works here
You can work with me from home. Consultations, documents, and the meeting of creditors happen by phone, video, and a secure portal, so you do not travel anywhere to work with me. There is no office to visit in Colorado Springs and Pueblo.
Communities
Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Monument, Fountain
How working from home worksWhich county court handles collection lawsuits here?
County court hears civil claims up to $25,000, which covers most consumer collection suits, and a suit is generally filed in the county where you live. For Colorado Springs, Monument and Fountain, that is El Paso County Court. For Pueblo, it is Pueblo County Court.
After a judgment, a creditor can garnish wages or a bank account. Colorado caps ordinary wage garnishment at the lesser of 20 percent of disposable earnings or the amount above a minimum wage floor. If that is already happening to you, please know it can be stopped. Filing a bankruptcy case stops a pending lawsuit and an active garnishment immediately.
What protections do servicemembers have?
If you serve, the law gives you protections that are worth knowing. Active duty servicemembers have protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a federal law that applies in state collection suits and in bankruptcy court. Before a court can enter a default judgment against someone who has not appeared, the creditor has to file an affidavit stating whether the defendant is in military service, and if you are, the court has to take further steps before a judgment can enter. A court can also pause a case when military duty materially affects your ability to take part.
The same law caps interest at 6 percent on debts you took on before entering active duty, for the duration of your service, once you give the creditor written notice and a copy of your orders.
For veterans, the HAVEN Act excludes VA disability compensation and certain Department of Defense disability payments from the income counted in the means test. Near the median, that can decide the chapter. The Bankruptcy Code also exempts some disabled veterans from the means test entirely when their debts arose mainly during active duty.
I just got stationed here. Can I file in Colorado?
Usually, once you have lived in Colorado for the greater part of the 180 days before filing. That is the venue rule in 28 U.S.C. § 1408. Which property exemptions you use is a separate and harder question. Colorado's exemptions apply only if your domicile has been in Colorado for the 730 days before filing. Military families are often stationed in one state while domiciled in another, so your exemptions may come from the state you consider home. This is one of the first things I work through, carefully, with anyone at Fort Carson, Peterson or Schriever Space Force Base, or the Air Force Academy.
A permanent change of station in the middle of a Chapter 13 plan does not end the case. It stays in the District of Colorado, and the plan payments continue from wherever you are.
How does the means test differ between El Paso and Pueblo County?
The Colorado median income is statewide, so the first threshold is identical. For households above it, the housing and utility allowance comes from the IRS Local Standards for your county, and El Paso County and Pueblo County have different figures. The Colorado means test explained goes through the whole calculation. Home equity is also measured differently than people expect. Colorado protects up to $250,000 of equity in your home, and in much of Pueblo County a typical home carries far less equity than that.
What about student loans?
I have real respect for the student loan borrowers I hear from in this region. Many are veterans who used their GI Bill for one degree and borrowed for another, teachers in Colorado Springs School District 11 and the Pueblo districts, and civilian contractors who carry graduate debt. Student loan discharge explains how the process works.
Where else in Colorado do I help, and what is the next step?
The statewide rules, from the single federal court to the exemptions, are on the Colorado page. Other regions have their own pages: the Denver metro, Northern Colorado, Boulder County and Broomfield and the High Country and Western Slope.
If you are deciding whether bankruptcy fits at all, start here. When you are ready for someone to look at the real numbers with you, including orders, domicile and any VA benefits, the first conversation is a paid Strategy Session. This is how to set one up, and I would be glad to hear from you.
Questions
What people here ask me
Will filing bankruptcy affect my security clearance?
I understand why this worry often comes first. I am not a security clearance lawyer, and clearance questions deserve an answer from someone who is. What I can say is that the adjudication process looks closely at unresolved delinquent debt, and I coordinate the timing and paperwork of a filing with whatever your security office needs.
Do I need to tell my commanding officer I am filing bankruptcy?
Bankruptcy courts do not notify your chain of command. Whether your branch or your clearance requires you to report is a separate question, and you should check your service's current rules before you file.
Is there a bankruptcy court in Colorado Springs?
Your bankruptcy case is handled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado, which is based in Denver and covers the whole state. With the 341 meeting on Zoom, most clients here never travel to Denver for their case.
Can I use the 6 percent interest cap if I am already in bankruptcy?
The cap applies to qualifying debts incurred before active duty, and it does not depend on whether you file. Interest above the cap is forgiven rather than deferred, which can reduce what a creditor claims in a Chapter 13, so it is worth raising before the plan is written.
Elsewhere in Colorado
Other regions
- Denver metroDenver, Aurora, Lakewood
- Northern ColoradoFort Collins, Loveland, Greeley
- Boulder County and BroomfieldBoulder, Louisville, Lafayette
- The High Country and Western SlopeGrand Junction, Montrose, Delta
- Bankruptcy in Colorado, statewide →
Sources
- U.S. Courts, Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act and bankruptcy
- 50 U.S.C. § 3931, protection of servicemembers against default judgments
- 50 U.S.C. § 3937, maximum rate of interest on debts incurred before military service
- U.S. Trustee Program, HAVEN Act frequently asked questions
- 11 U.S.C. § 522, exemptions (including the 730 day domicile rule)
- 28 U.S.C. § 1408, venue of cases under title 11
- U.S. Trustee Program, Region 19, local section 341 meeting information
- IRS, Local Standards: Housing and Utilities
You do not have to figure this out alone.
From the first call, you will be treated with kindness and respect, and without judgment. You can call my office or book a Strategy Session yourself, and no one will pressure you.