The option to file for personal bankruptcy can be a tough decision to make, especially, as it will impact your life for years to come. Know exactly what you’re getting into and what it means to file bankruptcy! Use the tips from this article to help you to understand the hows and whys of filing personal bankruptcy.
Once you have filed for bankruptcy, you will have to do your best to build your credit all over again. Do not be tempted to allow your credit account to have nothing on it, so it will appear to be fresh. This will send a bad signal to anyone who is looking at it.
Make sure that you pay all of your bills on time, since this will contribute to 35 percent of what is on your credit report. This looks good if you are trying to rebuild your credit after you have had to file for bankruptcy. Making on-time payments will increase your credit score.
After your bankruptcy is finalized, you should begin re-building your credit by, obtaining copies of your credit reports. Your reports may show that you filed for bankruptcy, but it can take a lot of time for the credit bureaus to remove the original debt from your credit history. Check your reports over thoroughly, if there is debt showing that was discharged in a bankruptcy, you can contact the credit bureaus online, or in writing and request that the information be deleted.
Do some research. There are two main types of personal bankruptcy – Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Chapter 7 will eliminate the majority of your debt while Chapter 13 restructures it to give you time to pay it off. Each one has different rules on what assets you are allowed to keep. So, ask a lot of questions before you decide which one is the best fit for your situation.
Don’t be tempted to race toward a bankruptcy without taking time to make sure it is the right thing for you to do. You might be better off consolidating your debt or availing yourself of some other remedy. Filling for bankruptcy could be a long and stressful process. It will also make it tough for you to secure credit after your filing is complete. Because of this, you should be sure that bankruptcy is your only option before you file.
Become educated about personal bankruptcy. You must realize that the IRS will tax forgiven debt in a bankruptcy. The rules can be confusing, so be sure you learn all that you can before you file. You can find out more about this by doing some research, either by talking to finance professionals or looking online.
The best thing you can do when filing for bankruptcy is to hire an attorney. In addition to providing you a free consultation, an attorney takes care of handling all the necessary paperwork in the appropriate time frame and deals with creditors for you throughout the process. An attorney just makes the whole process easier. Even though they can be expensive, bankruptcy lawyers are invaluable during the bankruptcy process.
Be weary of creditors once you have filed for bankruptcy. These companies think because you have filed for bankruptcy, you cannot file it again for a long time. You are not risky to lend to. By accepting loans from these companies, you are putting yourself at risk for more financial turmoil.
If you have many non-dischargeable debts, filling for bankruptcy may not be very beneficial or advisable. Non-dischargeable debts include student loans, taxes, child support payments, fraudulent debts, and alimony payments. Filing for bankruptcy will not dissolve any of those debts and will only make it harder for you to secure credit in the future.
Be completely up front and honest about your situation and assets to avoid courts from dismissing your case. If the court catches you deliberately hiding assets or income, it can bar you from filing and even refilling for bankruptcy on debts that you have listed within the petition. This makes it impossible to remove debts.
It is important to know that you may bet better off filing for bankruptcy than continuing to be in debt. The good news here is that, even though the bankruptcy claim will leave a decade-long stain on your credit score, you can still work to repair your credit. One of the benefits of bankruptcy is a relatively fresh start.
Prior to filing for personal bankruptcy, take care to not make withdrawals from your retirement accounts, IRA’s, or 401k’s. You may think you are doing the right thing to free up money, but often these types of accounts are protected from any bankruptcy proceedings. If you withdrawal the money, you may be opening it up to any bankruptcy action.
Do not allow future creditors to charge you ridiculously high interest rates due to a past bankruptcy. If it has been more than two years since the bankruptcy and you have been doing well since you filed, then you are eligible to receive a loan at whatever the going interest rate is at the time.
In order to file for bankruptcy, you’ll need professional legal assistance. The earlier in the process you find legal counsel, the better. Do not worry about the expense of a bankruptcy attorney. Most lawyers who specialize in this field understand, your financial difficulties. The sooner you start taking advantage of their expert advice, the better off you will be.
If you act early enough, you may be able to take advantage of Chapter 13 bankruptcy, instead of Chapter 7. Chapter 7 is the traditional “liquidation” bankruptcy, which will involve selling off your assets. In contrast, Chapter 13 is a repayment bankruptcy. You will have to pay off a portion of your debt, but you can hang onto your property.
As you have read in the article above, there are quite a few steps involved in filing for personal bankruptcy, but also carries a lot of responsibility. This option should be used as a last resort and you should understand the consequences of making such a tough decision. Don’t be too hasty to file and keep the tips in mind from this article, when you do!