What are the requirements for bankruptcy and how to start?

There is an income requirement. If your household income is equal to or less than the average in your county, you automatically qualify. If not, you may still qualify, but the process is more involved.

Almost everyone can file bankruptcy, there's not really a specific legal requirements. From a practical point of view, it generally requires that you have more than $10,000 in dischargeable debt or you'd be wasting your time and money.

The requirements are too numerous to write out in a reply. You will gain far more information with an initial free consultation.

Meet with a lawyer face to face to get your questions answered. For example, I charge a small fee for a one hour meeting on consumer bankruptcies. I will ask about 30 to 40 questions, then I will advise you of all of your options. At the end of the meeting, I quote a flat fee with payment arrangements. I have received thousands of compliments from clients how informative my meetings are. Many of these clients had met with one or two other attorneys before meeting with me. I know all the questions you are going to ask, and more! The meeting are very informative with all of your options. Good luck!

The answer to your question could fill a book. Here are some basics: you must disclose all your debts (even those you dispute), with the name and address of the creditor, the amount you believe is claimed, and the date or dates when the claim was incurred. (You can use a good faith estimate if you do not have the exact numbers.) You must also disclose all your assets (including household goods), by describing them, stating their estimated value, and their location. (People generally estimate the value of used household goods too high.) Then there are lots more questions. The bankruptcy forms, which are required, set out the questions you must answer and the other information you must supply. Find an experienced bankruptcy lawyer in your area: it is definitely worth it. If you do not know of one, try the web (e.g. Avvo.com) or the yellow pages, or call your state bar's lawyer referral service.

To qualify for Chapter 7, you need to show a budget that demonstrates that if you paid as much as you could after paying just necessary living expenses, you would not be able to pay even one quarter of your debts in a five year period. So that means if you have $100 left after paying your rent, car note, utilities, insurance, groceries, gas, etc, at the end of 5 years, you could have paid creditors $6,000. So you better have more than $24,000 in debt to be able to pass this good faith test.