Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Connecticut: Means Test, Exemptions, and Costs

Filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Connecticut clears most unsecured debts through a court-supervised liquidation handled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut. To qualify, your household income generally needs to sit below the state median: $84,302 for a single filer, $159,934 for a family of four. Connecticut lets you choose between state and federal exemption systems, and the state’s $250,000 homestead protection is far more generous than the federal version. Court filing fees run $338, attorney fees typically range from $1,000 to $3,500, and the case usually closes with a discharge about three to four months after filing.

Do You Qualify? The Means Test

Eligibility turns on the means test. It compares your household’s average monthly income for the six months before filing against Connecticut’s median for a household your size. Fall below the median and you pass automatically.

For cases filed on or after April 1, 2026, the Connecticut medians are:

One earner: $84,302
Two people: $106,224
Three people: $134,470
Four people: $159,934
Add $11,100 for each additional person

These figures come from Census data and are updated periodically by the U.S. Trustee Program.¹

Income above the median doesn’t disqualify you on its own. The test gets more detailed: you subtract standardized living expenses set by the U.S. Trustee Program, along with actual costs for health insurance, childcare, and payments on secured debts like a mortgage or car loan. If disposable income is low enough, you still qualify. If it’s too high, the court presumes Chapter 7 would be abusive and pushes you toward Chapter 13 repayment instead.²

Waiting Periods After a Prior Bankruptcy

You cannot receive a Chapter 7 discharge if you already received one in a case filed within the past eight years. If your prior discharge was under Chapter 13, the wait drops to six years, unless the Chapter 13 plan paid unsecured creditors in full, or paid at least 70 percent and was proposed in good faith as your best effort.³

What You Get to Keep: State vs. Federal Exemptions

Everything you own becomes part of the bankruptcy estate the moment you file. Exempt property comes back out; the trustee can’t sell it. Connecticut is one of the states that lets you elect either the state exemption system under C.G.S. § 52-352b or the federal set under 11 U.S.C. § 522(d). You pick one system in full and cannot mix.⁴

Connecticut State Exemptions

The state system is the clear winner for homeowners. Connecticut protects up to $250,000 in equity in your primary residence, calculated as fair market value minus all mortgages and liens.⁵

Other significant state exemptions:

Up to $7,000 in equity across one or two motor vehicles combined
Necessary household furniture, clothing, appliances, and bedding used for personal or family purposes, fully exempt
Books, instruments, and tools needed for your trade or profession
A $1,000 wildcard in any property of your choice
Up to $4,000 in accrued dividends, interest, or loan value of an unmatured life insurance policy
Social Security, workers’ compensation, unemployment, veterans’ benefits, and public assistance
Wedding and engagement rings, fully exempt regardless of value⁵

Federal Exemptions

The federal system usually works better for renters or homeowners without significant equity, because of a much larger wildcard. As of April 2025:

Homestead: $31,575
Motor vehicle: $5,025
Household goods: $800 per item, up to $16,850 total
Jewelry: $2,125
Wildcard: $1,675 in any property, plus up to $15,800 of unused homestead exemption. A renter can effectively shield up to $17,475 in assets of their choice.⁴

The strategic choice is usually straightforward. Substantial home equity points to the state system. Renters with cash savings, an investment account, or other non-standard assets typically get more protection from the federal wildcard.

Retirement Accounts

Retirement savings are strongly protected regardless of which exemption set you pick. ERISA-qualified plans, including 401(k)s and 403(b)s, are shielded with no dollar cap. Traditional and Roth IRAs are protected up to a combined $1,711,975 per person.⁶ Inherited IRAs are not treated as retirement funds under the Bankruptcy Code and do not get this protection.

What Filing Costs

The court filing fee for Chapter 7 is $338: a $245 case filing fee, a $78 administrative fee, and a $15 trustee surcharge.⁷ You can request an installment plan if paying the full amount upfront is not feasible. Filers with household income below 150 percent of the federal poverty line who also can’t afford installments may qualify for a full fee waiver.⁸

Attorney fees for a standard Chapter 7 case in Connecticut generally run $1,000 to $3,500 depending on complexity. These fees are typically paid before you file, because otherwise the attorney’s bill would be a dischargeable debt. Between the filing fee, credit counseling (around $20), the post-filing debtor education course, and attorney fees, most filers should plan on $1,500 to $4,000 total.

Documents to Gather Before You File

A Chapter 7 petition is a detailed financial snapshot. Federal law requires schedules listing every asset, every debt, income, and expenses.⁹ Pull together:

All pay stubs or payment advices received in the 60 days before filing
Your most recent federal income tax return (or transcript), which must go to the trustee at least seven days before the creditors’ meeting
Bank statements, loan documents, and mortgage records showing asset values and balances owed
A credit counseling certificate from an approved provider, completed within 180 days before filing

Everything is filed under penalty of perjury. Omitting an asset or a debt, even by accident, can put your discharge at risk or trigger fraud allegations. This is where pro se filers most often stumble.

Filing and the Automatic Stay

Cases are filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut, which has offices in Hartford, Bridgeport, and New Haven.¹⁰ Attorneys file electronically. Pro se filers can file by mail or in person at the clerk’s office.

The moment your petition is on file, the automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362 goes into effect. That is the immediate payoff. It stops nearly all collection activity, including:

Lawsuits and pending court proceedings
Wage garnishment
Collector calls and letters
Foreclosure
Repossession
Bank account levies and setoffs¹¹

The stay stays in place until the case closes, is dismissed, or a creditor gets court permission to resume collection. A creditor who knowingly ignores it can be held in contempt. One caveat: if you had a prior bankruptcy dismissed within the past year, the stay may be limited to 30 days or may not take effect at all unless the court extends it on a showing of good faith.

The 341 Meeting and Discharge

Between 20 and 40 days after filing, you attend a meeting of creditors, known as the 341 meeting. Creditors rarely appear in routine consumer cases. The trustee, not a judge, runs the meeting and asks you questions under oath about your schedules and finances.¹² If your paperwork is clean, the meeting typically lasts about 10 minutes.

Before your discharge is entered, you must also finish a debtor education course (sometimes called a personal financial management course) from an approved provider. It is separate from the pre-filing credit counseling. Skipping it blocks the discharge.¹³

If no one objects and everything is in order, the court usually enters the discharge order about 60 days after the 341 meeting. Start to finish, the process typically takes three to four months.

Debts Chapter 7 Won’t Wipe Out

Chapter 7 clears most unsecured debt: credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, old utility balances. Certain categories survive by law under 11 U.S.C. § 523:¹⁴

Domestic support obligations, meaning child support and alimony
Most tax debts, including recent income taxes, taxes tied to a fraudulent return, and taxes for years you never filed
Student loans, unless you prove undue hardship, which is a very demanding standard
Debts obtained through fraud, false pretenses, or a materially false written financial statement
Liability for injury or death caused by drunk driving
Debts from willful and malicious injury to a person or property
Government fines and penalties, including criminal restitution and traffic tickets
Debts from embezzlement or larceny

Recent spending can also be flagged. Luxury purchases totaling more than $900 from a single creditor within 90 days before filing are presumed non-dischargeable. Cash advances above $1,250 within 70 days of filing face the same presumption.¹⁴ Trustees and creditors watch for last-minute spending sprees.

Keeping a Car or Other Secured Property

Secured debt, most often a car loan, gives you a choice. Surrender the collateral, or sign a reaffirmation agreement to keep making payments and hold onto the property. Reaffirmation is voluntary; no creditor can force one on you.¹⁵

Reaffirming has real consequences. You remain personally liable for the full debt as if you never filed. If you default later, the lender can repossess and pursue you for any deficiency. You have 60 days after the agreement is filed to rescind it.¹⁵ If you’re unrepresented, the court must approve the agreement and find it doesn’t impose an undue hardship. If the car is worth less than what you owe, reaffirmation locks you into an underwater loan you just had the chance to walk away from.

What Happens to Your Credit

A Chapter 7 filing stays on your credit report for 10 years from the petition date under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.¹⁶ Individual accounts included in the bankruptcy usually drop off after seven years from their original delinquency date, so the underlying tradelines fade before the filing itself does.

The initial score hit is steep, often 150 to 200 points, but recovery generally moves faster than filers expect. The impact on scoring shrinks each year, and most people see meaningful improvement within about two years. A few practical steps help:

Open a secured credit card shortly after discharge. Using it lightly and paying in full each month rebuilds payment history, which drives 35 percent of a FICO score.
Consider a credit builder loan. It adds an installment tradeline and diversifies your credit mix.
Pull your credit reports after discharge. Accounts included in the bankruptcy should show a zero balance. If a discharged debt is still listed as owing, dispute it.

Your debt-to-income ratio improves the day the discharge is entered, which makes you a better candidate for some credit almost immediately. Many filers qualify for a car loan within a year and a mortgage within two to three years, at higher interest rates than borrowers with clean credit.

1
U.S. Trustee Program. Median Family Income Data – April 2026
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 US Code 707 – Dismissal of a Case or Conversion to a Case Under Chapter 11 or 13
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 727 – Discharge
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 522 – Exemptions
5
Justia. Connecticut Code 52-352b – Exempt Property
6
National Consumer Law Center. April 1 Increase of Federal Bankruptcy Exemptions, Other Dollar Amounts
7
United States Courts. Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1930 – Bankruptcy Fees
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 521 – Debtors Duties
10
United States Bankruptcy Court. United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Connecticut
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 US Code 341 – Meetings of Creditors and Equity Security Holders
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 727 – Discharge
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 524 – Effect of Discharge
16
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports