If you are considering filing for bankruptcy, you know that it feels like the hardest decision you’ve probably ever made. There are many questions - whether it will really help you get a fresh financial start, what the credit results are after bankruptcy, how bad it will be for your financial future, whether it’s really the right thing to do now.
Finding out more about bankruptcy is the only way to determine for yourself whether it’s right for you. Each individual has a different financial picture, and a different set of needs, which will be considerations you need to face when trying to decide about filing personal bankruptcy. Some of the questions you’ll need to answer are, what type of bankruptcy you need to file, what credit problems you are hoping to resolve, what assets you have that you want to save, and what bankruptcy alternatives you have that could help you more than filing. Let’s look at some of these one by one.
There are two basic types of personal bankruptcy, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. (There are six types altogether, but we’re focusing on the major personal types.) A Chapter 7 bankruptcy allows you to discharge, or eliminate, most of your consumer debt. You may have to sell assets, like cars or homes, to pay off secured lenders. But you can possibly walk away in a few months with little or no debt to pay. Filing under Chapter 13 is for debtors who have regular income and can pay some of their debt. You set up a repayment plan approved by the bankruptcy court, and in three to five years you are discharged. However, many of your debts can remain, but you may be able to save some of your assets.
The new bankruptcy laws after 2005 require that you complete a “means test” which determines whether you have an ability to pay your debts at least in part. If so, you will have to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy, not Chapter 7. This determination is one you can estimate on your own, without the need of a lawyer.
You will also have to complete credit counseling within 6 months of filing for bankruptcy. It might be an option for you to try counseling while you are trying to decide whether to file or not. Sometimes you can find ways to work out your debt problem without having to file bankruptcy.
If you have a lot of unsecured credit card debt, totalling more than you earn in one year, you may be a candidate. It’s better to avoid bankruptcy and try to work out deals with your creditors, but that’s not always possible. If much of your debt it secured, for example car loans and a home mortgage, you might consider filing under Chapter 13 to hold onto those assets under a repayment plan if possible. If much of your debt is student loans or support payments, however, these cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, so filing would not help you very much. Talk to a professional to sort out what type of credit problems you can deal with most effectively in bankruptcy.
The main bankruptcy alternative you have is not to file at all! Instead, you can try to work out payment plans with your lenders, or sell assets on your own to pay back debts. Another option is to just let your lender repossess for a car loan, or foreclose for a home loan. Yes, these will damage your credit, but some argue that this is not as bad as a bankruptcy filing would be on your credit. which is harder to recover from afterward. If creditors refuse to work with you, and the calls are just too much, then filing might be the only way to go. Once you file with the court, creditors are prohibited from contacting you.
The best steps you can take now are to read more about bankruptcy, learn all you can, and set up a meeting with a credit counselor approved by your local bankruptcy court. You can also find lawyers who will talk to you about consumer bankruptcy in an initial meeting for free or for a low cost. Find out all you can before taking the major step of filing for bankruptcy.
