To seek bankruptcy a business owner files a petition with the bankruptcy court its not required to hire an attorney to do this and individual business owners can do the paperwork themselves in less complicated cases a bankruptcy filing forces creditors to stop trying to collect debts or take over your business it lets business owners keep the property they need to run the business provides time to raise money by selling assets and gives them leverage to negotiate modified payment . The bankruptcy process to seek bankruptcy a business owner files a petition with the bankruptcy court its not required to hire an attorney to do this and individual business owners can do the. A small business owner who files individually in the persons not the businesss name can use bankruptcy to minimize personal expenses thereby leaving more income for the company filing for bankruptcy can also wipe out the individuals liability to pay for business debt after a business closure. Even if your business qualifies as a small business debtor filing and succeeding with a chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding is complicated in order to file under chapter 11 a business must be well organized you must produce the most recent balance sheet statements of operations and cash flow and federal tax return with the help of your attorney you must also develop a reorganization plan showing how your business will recover make monthly payments to creditors and endure