A skeleton form is a form used in bankruptcy filing for a debtor to institute a bankruptcy proceeding, also called a voluntary petition. It is an abbreviated filing, which is can be supplemented within a certain time period.
The voluntary petition also provides the bankruptcy court with the basic information needed to begin the case. Although some of the information asked for will be repeated in greater detail in the schedules and statements that also must be filed, the court needs certain data immediately to make a rough estimate of the resources needed to handle the case, to monitor multiple and repeat filings, to assign cases to judges, and to provide certain statistical information that the court is required by law to compile.
