While many people believe that bankruptcy is their personal punishment for not being able to responsibly handle their credit obligations, others may see it as a way out of a problem that was not necessarily of their own creation. Many individuals will struggle financially for years hoping to avoid the stigma they believe is attached to what is bankruptcy.
Essentially, bankruptcy under new laws is a way for people to get out from under a burden of debt that is preventing them from meeting their daily living needs. It can be caused by a variety of issues such as loss of income, unexpected high medical bills or the failure to be responsible with their credit. Having too much available credit often leads people down the road to what is bankruptcy and they can end up using one credit card to make the payments on another one, until there is no more credit available.
After they have tried to work with their creditors and possibly gone through credit consolidation resources they find that when they pay all of the required monthly payments there is no money left to pay for their basic living expenses, they seek protection from creditors under the federal bankruptcy law.
When it has been determined that they cannot pay for food and shelter and basic needs while paying for loans, they can file bankruptcy to eliminate all other obligations and start their life over again. Their standard if living will need to be adjusted to meet their available financial means, but they will not have to worry about paying any of the debt once it has been discharged through bankruptcy.
Today’s Internet has a plethora of information available simply by typing in a few words or phrases. However, those with bankruptcy questions will be better served by speaking to an experienced attorney to help sort through the complicated laws. While bankruptcy is governed by federal law, there are a few items that can be covered by state laws, such as exemption limits on personal property and are just one of the bankruptcy questions an attorney can quickly answer.
There may also be more bankruptcy questions about the new laws in effect that essentially did not change the statutes, but made it more strict about qualifying for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy as opposed to a Chapter 13 in which the debtor enters into a court supervised repayment plan. The benefit of a Chapter 13 is that people get to hold onto their possessions that are used as collateral for a loan, such as a car or a house.
Under a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition most of the petitioner’s assets, above the exemption limit are subject to confiscation and liquidation to offset the amount owed to debtors. How the money is divided among creditors is subject to the rules of bankruptcy are bankruptcy questions best left to an attorney to answer.
While information on bankruptcy is readily available, most attorneys will offer a no-charge meeting to answer all bankruptcy questions a potential petition may have. There may also be many questions about the procedures used in court on the day the debtor goes into court to finalize the process.

When you choose to file bankruptcy, it is a personal decision. Sure you may be thinking about your personal debt and may be thinking bankruptcy is your only option.
However, the final decision on whether or not you should file bankruptcy all depends upon your personal situation. Before you decide to file bankruptcy, you’ll need to fully look at the advantages and disadvantages.
When you’re thinking about bankruptcy filing, you will need a bankruptcy petition. The petition is a collection of your financial information and is usually about 20 pages. Some states may require additional asset or other information as well. The whole process is done because the court will want a full picture of your current assets, liabilities, income, expenses, and recent financial transactions. It is vital you are honest about your finances. If you aren’t honest you could be fined or even be convicted and spend time in jail.
It’s often most helpful to consult a bankruptcy attorney or bankruptcy firm when you’re trying to file for bankruptcy. When you consult a professional, you can be sure everything is being done just as it should be done. You will have to likely pay for any bankruptcy service from a professional. However many offer payment plans that are quite affordable.
Today’s laws allow individuals to file for bankruptcy without professional assistance. As with most legal proceedings, “pro se” (meaning by yourself) is quite acceptable. While you have the right to represent yourself, you likely shouldn’t. An attorney would serve your interests much better because they know the laws well and know how to use the law to best benefit your individual situation.
Throughout the bankruptcy procedures there will be a ton of paperwork that can be quite confusing if you’re not familiar with the process. If you don’t file the paperwork correctly you could end up being seen as fraudulent or even be denied.
You should be careful when choosing your bankruptcy attorney. While it is necessary to hire one, you’ll want to be sure you are choosing one you feel comfortable with. If you can, check into their history of cases to see what their track record holds. Ask around to see if they have a good reputation of working with clients. It will be a difficult time for you and your family and you’ll want to work with someone who will make the process easier.
If you’re behind on your bills, you can bet you’ll be getting collection calls if they haven’t already bombarded you. These calls can cause stress and aggravation. Most collection companies will call you all day long, every day. However, when you file for bankruptcy the calls will stop coming.
In addition to stopping the collection calls, filing for bankruptcy can prevent the shutoff of utilities in Chapter 7. It eliminates the past due balance and in Chapter 13, pays the amount past due through the court-approved plan. Therefore you don’t need to worry about your electric or water being shut off for non-payment.
Student loans are one area of bankruptcy that is not usually changed. Due to many students taking out unusually high loans and then filing bankruptcy after college, student loans are rarely part of court approved plans for bankruptcy. Of course, student loans can often be deferred in financial crisis. It’s best to contact your lender about the options for you.
Bankruptcy can be an effective tool in getting the collection calls to stop. Filing for bankruptcy will eliminate your debt and you’ll be back on your way to a better financial future.

Filing for bankruptcy is a very personal decision. Heavy debtors may choose to file a bankruptcy if they see no other way out from their heavy debts. By declaring bankruptcy and filing a petition with U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the bankruptcy filer will be protected and relief from debts under the Bankruptcy Code.

Bankruptcy filing should be you last option if there are no better options available, because the consequences of filing a bankruptcy will follow you for 7 to 10 years. If bankruptcy is your only option, then by understanding the process of filing bankruptcy will get you more prepare to face it. Bankruptcy procedure and exemptions may vary from one state to another state. This article will walk through with you the general process of filing a bankruptcy.

The first part of the bankruptcy filing process is collecting your personal financial information. This includes your existing secured and unsecured debts and tax returns for past two years. Prepare all your deed documents which include real estate you own, car title, land title and other loan documents. You may want to order your credit report, it will provides you some helpful information on your past records.

Then, you either assign a bankruptcy attorney or you can choose to file the bankruptcy yourself. If you choose to file the bankruptcy yourself, you need to get the bankruptcy forms (you can get these forms online) and get them fill up. You have to fill in your current financial status and recent financial transactions (within last 2 years) into the bankruptcy forms. At the mean time, you need to decide to file under what type of bankruptcy; there two commons types which are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, chapter 7 bankruptcy is the preferred one, but not all are eligible to file under chapter 7. If you choose to file under chapter 13, you need to enclose your proposed repayment plan with your petition. Once the bankruptcy petition is completed you will need to file the petition with your local United States bankruptcy court. If you have assigned a bankruptcy attorney to handle your bankruptcy case, the attorney will help you and guide you through the above process.

Once you have submitted your petition to the bankruptcy court, you will be immediately protected under the bankruptcy code. Your creditors are not allowed to make direct contact with you or making a claim to any of your property from the date of filing. About 1 month later, the trustee will call a first meeting with all your creditors and your creditors’ lawyer. Objections are typically resolved by negotiation between you as the debtor and your creditors. If there is no challenge raises in the meeting, you should receive a notice from court after 4 to 6 months stated that your bankruptcy has been discharged; otherwise, if compromise can be reached by all parties, a judge will intervene. In Summary

Bankruptcy filling is a long process, it may takes up 6 months to a few years if a court case involve. You must be prepared to face it and if you have no confidence to get through yourself, it’s better to assign an attorney to handle the bankruptcy process.

If you are in need of a copy of your bankruptcy records due to loss from an accident such as a flood or fire or personal negligence, you can find relief in record replacement online. You can contact a bankruptcy record site online to send for a copy of your records online through a search by name, state or social security number. You can get this copy free of charge, though numerous sites charge a fee ranging twenty to thirty dollars per search/copy. These copies can be sent by email or through the U.S. mail. This is all a matter of personal preference.
Since section 107 of the bankruptcy code makes any filing in a bankruptcy case public record, this information is now even more accessible due to technology such as the Internet. This can raise concerns for many people who are worried that their personal bankruptcy record information is available for all to see. With identity theft/ identity fraud in full swing it is easy to see that this concern is a valid one. Privacy and protection methods are said to be in place for this specific purpose. Information such as a debtors name, address, attorney, and case number, filing type and file date and location are all located in one easily searchable bankruptcy record document. Assets, liabilities, figures and case status are also included in most bankruptcy records.
If you need a list of previous creditors or a copy of discharge papers to correct your credit report you can find these documents online as well. You can find them through an online search using an online investigative firm. You can find any bankruptcy from the past ten years by name, state or social security number. Though this is helpful for the person who was the previous debtor it can also be hindering as well. Some employers choose to look up bankruptcy filings to base job hire upon. Though this can seem unfair, it is not illegal.
The ability to replace your bankruptcy records is easily available to you. Once you have replaced your records it is best to keep your bankruptcy records on file in a safe place such as a lock box or locking file cabinet for safekeeping. This will better prevent you from making another search for records online saving you time and money.
Anyone who has ever been late on a bill knows creditors are more than happy to give you a call to remind you of your balance. Many times the calls turn a little harsher in demeanor. There are laws to protect consumers on harassment from creditors, however most collection agencies could care less about following these laws and will take them to the limit to try to harass people into paying them.
Most often creditors will threaten to call your employer, threaten to print your name in the paper and threaten to take your car. They are nasty people who are simply out to get the money you owe…no matter what the cost. If you’ve got one creditor calling, chances are they aren’t the only one.
If you file for bankruptcy, you’ll find the calls will stop. It may about a week for the creditors to be notified of the pending action and calls may still be made until they are notified. When the creditors are notified they will be advised to contact the bankruptcy attorney for all information. If they continue to call after being notified of the bankruptcy filing, they can be held legally accountable.
If you’ve ever tried applying for a loan, you know how important your credit report can be. Whether you’re buying a car or a house, your credit can not only determine if you get the loan but also the interest rate you qualify for. Since interest rates ultimately determine how much you pay for something in the long run, it can be important to get low rates on large purchases.
A credit report contains a lot of information about you. Your name, addresses, and other necessary information in included on each report. Credit reporting agencies compile these reports and allow them to be available to potential lenders, with your approval. They keep a cumulative report on you, from your first credit account forward.
The federal law called the Fair Credit Reporting Act regulates credit-reporting agencies. The purpose of this law is to make sure that the credit reporting is fair and accurate. Credit reporting agencies give out the credit information to companies and individual consumers. You can gain access to your credit report at any time.

Bankruptcy in its legal sense is the inability of an individual or organization to meet their financial obligations to their creditors. The individual or organization is not able to pay for cash transactions and are also unable to pay owed money. Bankruptcy may be declared to relieve a debtor of most or all of his debt and begin on a clean slate or to allow a debtor repay his creditors in a manner as would be most convenient for both parties depending on the ability of the debtor.
No matter if you are a struggling business or you are suffering from piles of personal debt, there is a solution for debt relief through bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is not a split second decision for debt relief but instead it is the last resort choice for financial freedom. You have to keep in mind that as there is a good and bad to every area in life the same philosophy goes for bankruptcy.
Positive Effects Of Bankruptcy
· Unsecured debts are discharged
· Foreclosure is stopped
· Repossession is stopped
· End Garnishments
· Utility shut off can cease
Negative Effects Of Bankruptcy
· Difficulty acquiring credit
· Hassle when buying a home
· Concerns with life insurance availability
· Job hire discrimination
With bankruptcy comes a stigma that might last an entire lifetime and one after-effect and fear that plagues most people who may have been declared bankrupt at some point. This stigma is the difficulty in securing credit facilities during their period of bankruptcy or in the future although technically, after two years, such an individual is able to start afresh and build a new credit record.
Other Debt Concerns
You may or may not be aware that some debts are unable to be discharged. Such debts can include child support, alimony, fines, taxes and student loans. Asset exemptions vary between each state and between which bankruptcy chapter is filed. An example of this is when filing chapter 7, the majority of the debtor’s assets are sold in order to pay of debt to creditors. Chapter 13 however allows the debtor to maintain possession of certain assets such as a vehicle or home.
Credit Scars
There is also hope of a successful financial future after bankruptcy. Credit can be rebuilt over time as a previous debtor makes bill payments on time and does not spend outside of ones means. Taking the time to set up a bill payment system and a personal budget is one key to maintaining the path towards financial health. Performing such steps will help creditors to see that you are in the progress of rebuilding your credit though your credit report will continue to show proof of your bankruptcy. Chapter 7 appears for ten years and chapter 13 appears on your credit report for seven years.
However, all hope is not lost. Being bankrupt is actually not the end of the road like most people would imagine. Even if you have been declared bankrupt (involuntary bankruptcy) or if you have declared yourself bankrupt (voluntary bankruptcy) before, you can still live a normal life after your bankruptcy period.
Many people do not know that you can actually get a bankruptcy loan during or after your bankruptcy. This is a lot easier if you are in chapter 13 bankruptcy. To improve your financial security, get some relief with repayment of your debts or even to quickly restore your credit rating, you can get bankruptcy loan and there are experts who can help you in situations like this. So you know you are not alone. You can get bankruptcy loan to refinance your bankruptcy and pay your trustees. Getting a bankruptcy loan can help a genuinely bankrupt individual recover quicker than you expect.
The End Result
In the end of filing a bankruptcy claim you will receive a new beginning to make wiser financial decisions for a more sound credit history. We are provided with a second chance through bankruptcy to learn from our mistakes and to become more responsible spenders.