Having recently moved to a new state matters when filing for bankruptcy, mostly because of bankruptcy exemptions. If you have not lived in California for at least 91 days, you will have to wait until you have and then file for bankruptcy in California. If you have lived in California for more than 91 days but less than two years, you will file for bankruptcy in California, but you will use the bankruptcy exemptions from wherever you lived for the majority of time during the six-month period before the two years prior to filing for bankruptcy. In other words, you will use the exemptions for whatever state you lived in two to two and a half years before your bankruptcy filing.