Except in the rare case of involuntary bankruptcy, a bankruptcy proceeding is initiated by the debtor's filing of a petition with a bankruptcy court.  Once that petition is filed, it is often necessary to later file other documents with the bankruptcy court, such as reaffirmation agreements or amendments to schedules.  If the petition or any of these subsequent filings are not accompanied by the correct cover sheet, the filing will be rejected by the bankruptcy court clerk, as I recently discussed here.  In the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, there are distinct cover sheets (available here) for the bankruptcy petition itself, any subsequent amendments, motions to approve sale procedures, adversary proceedings (civil lawsuits filed in the bankruptcy court within a bankruptcy action), reaffirmation agreements, and in Chapter 11 cases, a special cover sheet for "Motions to Use Cash Collateral or to Obtain Financing."

As I recently discussed at the National Bankruptcy Forum, these cover sheets and other bankruptcy forms can be found for free online.  However, they are not a substitute for competent counsel, as it requires legal training to determine when and how to use these forms.

-Drew Broaddus