In short
A Chapter 7 discharge wipes out the personal obligation to pay a debt. It doesn’t remove a lien. So when a debt is secured by a car or a house, something has to happen with that property, and Form 108 is where a filer states what.
It’s a notice as much as a form. Copies go to every creditor and lessor listed on it.
Who files it
An individual filing under Chapter 7 who has debts secured by property, or who leases personal property under a lease that hasn’t expired. It isn’t used in Chapter 13, where the plan does this job.
What it asks
Part 1: List Your Creditors Who Have Secured Claims
For each secured creditor from Schedule D, the property and one of four boxes: surrender the property, keep it and redeem it, keep it and enter into a reaffirmation agreement, or keep it and do something else, with an explanation. It also asks whether the property is claimed as exempt on Schedule C.
Part 2: List Your Unexpired Personal Property Leases
For each lease from Schedule G, such as a car lease, whether the lease will be assumed.
Part 3: Sign Below
A signature under penalty of perjury. Both spouses sign in a joint case.
The four boxes are real decisions. Surrendering, redeeming and reaffirming each have lasting consequences, and a reaffirmed debt survives the discharge. This page only names the options the form offers. Choosing among them is a question for a bankruptcy attorney or a legal aid clinic.
When it’s filed
Within 30 days after the petition is filed, or by the date set for the meeting of creditors, whichever comes first. The court can extend that for cause.
Related forms
- Schedule D: Creditors Who Have Claims Secured by Property (Official Form 106D)
- Schedule G: Executory Contracts and Unexpired Leases (Official Form 106G)
- Schedule C: The Property You Claim as Exempt (Official Form 106C)
The official form
Official Form 108 is 2 pages long and is used in Chapter 7 only cases. This guide describes the 12/15 revision, the date printed beside the form’s title. The federal courts publish the form and replace it when it changes, so their page always has the current one.
BK Prepare’s questionnaire builds the list of forms for a case from your answers, and includes this one when it applies.