what do you know about bankruptcy and how does it affect your credit?

Answer 1

when you can not pay bills and have no way to pay them, you go to a bankruptcy lawyer and he files in the court. it stays on your credit for ten years. then you have to build up your credit again. I still was able to get a car and can get a house. not right away, you can to wait a few years into it. many places you still can get a car with bad credit as long as you pay on time. there are buy here pay here places.

Answer 2

If you're considering bankruptcy, check the new laws. It isn't like before. You don't loose everything (such as: your car).There are different types of bankruptcy and reorganization plans that are meant to help people not declare bankruptcy. It you have got to the point that you feel bankruptcy is the only answer, your credit is probably not worth worrying about. The stress of being so far in debt, can be devistating to individual heath and family well-being. With this stress lifted, so will be one reason to constantly argue. Hopefully Many places once they know you have just declared bankruptsy, see you as a good credit risk because you can not declare bankruptsy for another ten years or so. You can start developing credit by obtaining one of the prepay credit cards. Join a credit union. Some companies provide counselling on how to better manage money, if you feel it would be helpful in developing a realistic budget.Then go up from there. But don't plan to have great credit for quite some time. Good luck!

Answer 3

I know a lot about bankruptcy. If you have to file, your credit is already bad. Bad info can stay on your report up to 7 years, but that is misleading. If you are fooled into making a tiny payment, it restarts the 7 years. Interest and late fees are added, along with legal fees and costs of collection.

Bankruptcy stays on for 10 years, from the date of filing. After your discharge you can't file for c. 7 against for 8 years.

Who would you rather lend to? Someone who can't file bankruptcy again for 8 years or the guy who believes the creditor community and their shills and can still file bankruptcy if the interest and late charges keep being added on, plus having to pay the credit counseling fees.

The bureaus won't tell you how bankruptcy figures in the score, but credit counseling payers don't get offers for new credit cards. Discharged bankrupts get credit card offers within weeks of their discharge.

None of the other answers are correct, so far. Congress did not eliminate bankruptcy, and most of my clients do not have to file c. 13.

Answer 4

I had to do this last year because of a lingering account from when I was married. It was awful for me and embarrassing, didn't even tell my mother, but it was a necessary evil. If I hadn't, they would have taken the money straight from my check leaving me with pratically nothing. With a teenage daugther in a private high school, I need every penny I can get!!

It was a little unnerving because once in the "court room" in front of the people who will determine your life, they question what your doing with your money now. They had asked about my daughter's school...I was like OMG, they not going to approve me. It was awful. But I was approved and have just recently gotten a new credit card. I decided to wait a year before applying for new credit. And believe me, it wasn't from lack of offers. I hadn't even been discharged yet, I had just filed and within a couple of weeks, I had offers for credit...for cars even....like I needed another headache.

As far as your credit score...well it goes down...how much down will depend on what stuff you keep...like a car or house payment...and where it was in the first place. I didn't bankrupt on my car so I was able to keep my car and continue payments. My credit score plummed but not all the way down which was a relief. I've never missed a car payment or payed late so that helped.

The best is to find a bankruptcy lawyer because the laws have changed and have become super strict to deter people who charge up everything in the world then don't feel like paying. Give them as much info as you can about your finances...they'll be able to determine if you're a good candidate for bankruptcy.

If your worried about your credit score....it will go down anyway if you start missing payments or paying late. Also, too many open accounts and payees brings it down anyway.

Answer 5

I filed for a Chapter 7 and 13, but that was in 1990. What I can say, contrary to what a lot of people here have told you, there is life after bankruptcy.

Three years after I filed I wrote to my Credit Union (notice I said Credit Union not bank) and told them that I had just paid cash for a computer ($1,200) and I wanted to apply for a loan of $1,000, not because I needed it, but because I wanted an opportunity to reestablish my credit. The said we will give you $500, I took that and it's been up hill since. I paid that off very quickly, since I didn't really need it. Then a few months later I applied for a car loan. I wanted $18,000 they said no. I asked could I have anything and they said $10,000. It took that and payed every payment on time until it was paid off. Then the credit card offers started and I had two bank of america cards, one citibank card and others. I quickly did a debt consolidation as to not make my credit bad. And in 1996 I bought a house.

So don't dispair. Ask your attorney all the questions you are not sure about. Join a credit union if you are not already with one. Once the debts are discharged make sure you pay any new ones on time. Things happen and life does go on!

Answer 6

It's a 10 year strike on your credit score which will mean that after you are discharged you can get credit... at ridiculously high interest rates. You cannot file again within those 10 years because default on any debts after bankruptcy will simply put you in jail. That's motivation to pay your bills. The bankruptcy laws have changed over the years and while you might think you qualify, the courts may not. There are some debts that you cannot claim bankruptcy on like taxes and student loans for example. There are people that simply MUST file bankruptcy. Those laws were created to protect them. You may or may not be one of them. You can file your own bankruptcy but just one error will cost you alot more than an attorney fee. I would suggest a free appointment with an organization like Consumer Credit Counseling Services who might be able to help you with a debt repayment plan. I have been in a CCCS program and it was successful for me. Others that I know did not like the policies such as cutting up all credit cards and closing them. I had no choice. I had no credit on them. After 4 years, I am down to my last 5-6 months and I will be debt free. Think before you act. Bankruptcy should be a last resort even if you do qualify. It really amounts to how much debt you have. The bankruptcy courts will have you filling out mounds of paperwork to justify that you are indeed in financial trouble. You will have to go back a certain number of years to show who you paid and how much so there's no favoritism to your creditors. Your bankruptcy attorney will want his or her money up front but will advise you not to pay anything that you will be able to file on. It's a way out of debt but not the only way and definately not an easy way. Check out a legitimate Consumer Credit Counseling Services plan first. You may not be in as bad of shape as you think you are.

Answer 7

It will take 7-10 years to get your credit back to some sort of order. You will not likely be able to do anything creditwise for a while. I got a Mastercard through OrchardBank. It is a secured card but no one will know unless you tell them and the best part is they report monthly to the credit bureaus. It is the best credit building card out there that i have found.

Answer 8

Personal bankruptcy laws have become much more strict in recent years. But as to how it would affect your credit: It would have a serious negative impact on your ability to obtain a loan, buy a car or house, obtain a credit card, etc.

Answer 9

It will destroy your credit, but if you are thinking about it I assume your credit is already bad. It will stay on your record for 7 year , but if you ever want to buy a house that will show up no matter how long ago you filed.

Answer 10

congress got rid of bankruptcy a few years ago, so your out of luck, even if you if you file bankruptcy you have to pay back your creditors eventually, where as before, you did not, but how could people who make serious money understand how many people are drowning in debt, and will never get out of it.