Considering Bankruptcy?

By Desiree J. Wolford, Law Clerk

Sometimes bankruptcy is the answer.  Making the decision to file bankruptcy is harder than the actual process itself.  Bankruptcy is harmful to your credit report and can make it difficult to obtain credit in the future.  However, if you are under a severe amount of debt and do not have the resources to make the payments on your debts, then bankruptcy may be an option to consider. 

There are two types of bankruptcy for consumers:  Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.  Chapter 7 provides debtors a complete discharge of their debts, whereas a Chapter 13 is more a payment plan to payback some of the debts you owe.  To determine which Chapter is best for you, it is best to speak to attorney to make that recommendation, because there are several factors that go into whether you qualify for a Chapter 7 or 13.  Such factors are: your income, the amount of debt owed, if you want to keep your house (if it has a mortgage on it) or vehicle, number of dependents, and if you have previously filed a bankruptcy in the past 8 years. 

In my experience, one of the top reasons an individual will file bankruptcy is medical bills.  If a person is uninsured or has a high co-pay, the medical bills will pile up at an alarming rate, and though hospitals and doctors are willing to set up you payment arrangements to pay it off, if you have several medical bills that you owe on, the payment arrangements can become too burdensome on a person's income. 

Another top reason that an individual will file bankruptcy is a life changing circumstance, most often, its job loss or divorce.  These circumstances can leave a debtor with mounds of debt and inability to pay it off.  Bankruptcy provides relief to many Americans each day.  According to an article in Time Magazine, "Nationally, more than 1.4 million business and consumer bankruptcy petitions were filed in 2009, up 32% from the 2008 figure."[1]  In that same article, it is predicted that the number of bankruptcies filed in 2010 will surpass the number of bankruptcies filed in 2009.

                Bankruptcy is not something that you should do lightheartedly or impulsively.  When deciding to file bankruptcy, talk with an attorney so that you realize, not only benefit of a "fresh start" and riding yourself of some if not all of your debts, but to recognize the pitfalls that you may encounter along the way.  Bankruptcy has provided relief to millions of people in America, and will continue to do so.