Q: I am about to file ch 7 and on there I put a civil lawsuit that is in process wanting to know if I have to show in court
A: If the hearing for the law suit is before you file, you should go. If it is after, file a Suggestion of Bankruptcy in the suit and you do not have to go.
A: Once you file your Chapter 7 petition with the Bankruptcy Court, the Automatic Stay goes into effect. That means the underlying civil case is stayed for the duration of your bankruptcy case unless the Bankruptcy Court orders the Stay lifted. However, practically speaking, it takes a few days for the plaintiff in your civil suit to receive the Bankruptcy Court's official notice of your bankruptcy filing. So, if your hearing in the civil case is coming up very shortly after your bankruptcy filing, it would be good practice to let the civil court and the plaintiff in that case know that you have filed bankruptcy. In California, you do this by filing a Notice of Stay of Proceeding in the civil court and serving this filing on the plaintiff. California's superior courts accept the California Judicial Council form of the same name, which you can find online as a PDF form.
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