Filing in Colorado · Northern Colorado
Bankruptcy in Northern Colorado, handled from where you already are
Northern Colorado sits about an hour from the bankruptcy courthouse in Denver, which used to mean a day off work and a drive down the interstate for the meeting of creditors. It no longer does, which makes things easier for anyone with a job and a family to look after. Colorado 341 meetings are held on Zoom, filing is electronic, and a case for someone in Fort Collins or Greeley runs exactly the same way as one for someone who lives downtown.
I serve clients throughout Colorado, Northern Colorado included, and there is no office you need to drive to. You can work with me from home, as 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 Northern Colorado.
Communities
Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, Windsor, Longmont
How working from home worksWhich county court handles collection lawsuits in Northern Colorado?
County courts in Colorado hear civil claims up to $25,000, which covers most credit card and medical collection suits, and a suit is generally filed in the county where you live. For Fort Collins and Loveland, that is Larimer County Court. For Greeley, it is Weld County Court.
Two of the cities here cross lines. Windsor sits mostly in Weld County with a portion in Larimer, so it is worth checking which county your address is in before assuming. Longmont is in Boulder County, with a small part in Weld, so most Longmont residents deal with Boulder County Court and fall under Boulder County's figures in the means test, not Larimer's.
Wherever the suit is filed, the mechanics are the same. Miss the response deadline on the summons and the creditor can get a default judgment and garnish wages or a bank account. A bankruptcy filing stops the lawsuit and any active garnishment the moment it is filed.
How does the means test work for Larimer and Weld County?
The first step compares your household income against the Colorado median for your household size. That figure is the same statewide. The second step, for people above the median, uses the IRS Local Standards for housing and utilities, which are published county by county. Larimer County and Weld County each have their own figure, and a household in west Greeley and one in east Fort Collins can come out differently on the same income.
Northern Colorado also has a lot of income that moves around: agricultural work, oil and gas in Weld County, construction, seasonal and overtime heavy jobs. The means test looks at the six full calendar months before you file, so a strong quarter followed by a slow one can change the answer depending on when the case is filed. That timing is a legitimate part of the analysis, and I look at it carefully with you. The Colorado means test explained walks through it.
Does the homestead exemption cover a Northern Colorado home?
Often, yes. Colorado protects up to $250,000 of equity in the home you live in, or $350,000 if you, your spouse or a dependent is 60 or older or disabled. The measure is equity, meaning value minus what you owe, not the price of the house. Home values across Larimer and Weld rose substantially over the last decade, so a long time owner with a small mortgage should check the numbers rather than assume, and I am happy to do that with you. Colorado bankruptcy exemptions has the rest of the list.
What cases do I see most from Northern Colorado?
Educators. The University of Northern Colorado in Greeley trains a large share of the state's teachers, and Colorado State University in Fort Collins employs a great many people with graduate degrees. Both groups tend to carry federal student loans they have been paying for years under income driven plans. For many of them the question worth asking is whether those loans can be discharged, which is covered on the student loan discharge page and in the student loan attestation explained.
I also hear from many people who spent a year or two in a debt settlement program, trying hard to do the right thing, and who are now being sued on the accounts that were not settled. Debt settlement versus bankruptcy is the honest comparison.
Where else in Colorado do I help, and what is the next step?
The statewide picture, including the courthouse, the trustees and the exemptions, is on the Colorado page. Neighbors to the south are covered on Boulder County and Broomfield and the Denver metro, and Colorado Springs and Pueblo and the High Country and Western Slope have their own pages.
How bankruptcy works is the place to start if you are early. When you want someone to look at your real numbers with you, the first conversation is a paid Strategy Session. Here is how to set one up, and I would be glad to hear from you.
Questions
What people here ask me
Do I have to drive to Denver for my bankruptcy case?
No. Colorado 341 meetings are held by video, and the petition is filed electronically. Most Northern Colorado clients complete the whole case from home, without taking a day off work.
Is there a bankruptcy court in Fort Collins or Greeley?
No. Colorado has one federal bankruptcy court for the whole state, based in Denver. Larimer County Court and Weld County Court handle state civil cases such as collection lawsuits, but not bankruptcy.
I live in Longmont. Which page applies to me?
Both this one and the Boulder County page. Longmont is mostly in Boulder County, so your county court and your means test housing figure are usually Boulder County's, even though you may think of yourself as Northern Colorado.
Elsewhere in Colorado
Other regions
- Denver metroDenver, Aurora, Lakewood
- Colorado Springs and PuebloColorado Springs, Pueblo, Monument
- Boulder County and BroomfieldBoulder, Louisville, Lafayette
- The High Country and Western SlopeGrand Junction, Montrose, Delta
- Bankruptcy in Colorado, statewide →
Sources
- U.S. Trustee Program, Region 19, local section 341 meeting information
- U.S. Trustee Program, means testing information (median income and IRS standards)
- IRS, Local Standards: Housing and Utilities
- Colorado Judicial Branch, county courts
- Colorado General Assembly, SB22-086, Homestead Exemption and Consumer Debt Protection
- 11 U.S.C. § 707, dismissal and the means test
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.