Is there Chapter 11 for individuals? Most of the time, Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection is applied to businesses; usually corporations. However, in certain instances, Chapter 11 will be the avenue for bankruptcy protection for individuals because of the size of the estate that an individual or individuals might possess. In many situations it may be used by sole proprietors, such as doctors, lawyers, and other professionals that have a business operation and for some reason, never went further to incorporate. A Chapter 11 case also provides a debtor with the benefit of the automatic stay and an individual has the right to claim exemptions as to his assets.  In fact, the automatic stay also protects a co-debtor of the debtor for a consumer debt. In addition, the debtor has a greater ability to retain property because the debtor is making payments to creditors out of the debtor's future earnings. When a debtor exceeds the debt limits set forth in Chapter 13, the alternative is a Chapter 11.   Under Chapter 11, the debtor typically remains in possession of his/her property.  The debtor is able to claim certain of his/her assets as exempt.   Depending on the bankruptcy court in which the debtor files, the debtor may be able to choose between two different sets of exemptions -- state law exemptions or federal bankruptcy exemptions.  While federal bankruptcy exemptions are uniform, state exemptions vary dramatically from state to state. Under Chapter 11 the debtor typically keeps his/her property by repaying creditors (to a certain extent) out of the debtor's future income.   Each Chapter 11 debtor writes a Plan, which must be approved.  The establishment of a plan is part of the preparation undertaken with the help of legal counsel. The approval process is complicated involving the debtor's creditors, the trustee and the Bankruptcy Court. The Debtor is required to make certain disclosure statements in addition to maintaining regular payments to creditors as stated in the plan. Further, in order to prepare a petition (and schedules and statement of financial affairs and plan) under Chapter 11, the debtor must provide debtor's name, age, social security number, assets, debts, income, expenses, dependent children, as well as other information regarding the debtor's financial history.   In Chapter 11,the debtor must attend a Section 341 hearing, which is a meeting set for creditors to attend.  The hearing is scheduled. Notice of the hearing is provided shortly after the bankruptcy is filed.  At that hearing, the debtor is questioned by the trustee about the information contained in the bankruptcy documents (the petition, the schedules and the statement of financial affairs).  A trustee may request the debtor to bring certain documents to the meeting depending on the information contained in the debtor's schedules.  A trustee is appointed in a Chapter 11 case as in other cases. In a Chapter 11 case, a debtor can be discharged from almost all debts, except for claims for alimony, maintenance or support, claims for certain educational loans, certain debts where the last payment will not be due until after the completion of the plan, debts arising from operating a motor vehicle while legally intoxicated and claims for restitution obligations imposed as a condition of probation in a state criminal case.  A debtor will not be able to proceed under Chapter 11 unless he/she has some regular source of income and current income exceeds current expenses (as if the debtor were starting anew without any delinquency owing to any creditor as of the petition date). The regular source of income does not have to be wages from a job. In a Chapter 11, priority claims must be paid in full even if there would be no distribution to such claimants in a Chapter 7 proceeding.  Priority claims are such claims as various types of taxes, certain wages owed to employees and deposits for the purchase, lease or rental of property or services for personal, family or household use, where the property or services were not delivered or provided, claims which are generally not dischargeable in a Chapter 7. Generally, a debtor's unsecured creditors in a Chapter 11 case will have to receive at least as much as they would if the debtor's non-exempt property were liquidated and the monies generated from the sale were distributed as if the case were a Chapter 7 proceeding. Generally, a plan has to be filed within 120 days after the filing of the bankruptcy petition after which time the debtor's creditors review and vote on the proposed plan.  Creditors may also propose a counter plan.  The plan can provide for payments of up to 60 months.