There are plenty of reasons to file for bankruptcy, and the bankruptcy court does not care which of them led you to its door this time. Perhaps you lost your ability to work, but the bills kept coming due. Maybe your ex-spouse took all your assets in the divorce, leaving you with a whole family’s debts and only one income with which to pay them. Even if your path to bankruptcy is not as dramatic as this, you might have ended up in bankruptcy court because you painted yourself into a corner with all the other debt relief options; you ran out of debt consolidation loans to borrow, and you do not have enough spare change to rub together to settle your credit card debt in a lump sum. If you do your part to follow the legal procedures of filing for bankruptcy, the bankruptcy court will do its part by discharging your eligible debts. It is certainly a relief to no longer be responsible for some of the debts that have been following you around for years, but it will not necessarily solve all your financial problems. For some honest talk about what life will be like for the next few years if you file for bankruptcy now, contact an Oakland Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyer.
You Might Not Be Able to Discharge All Your Debts
The biggest bummer about filing for bankruptcy is not the glaring negative mark on your credit report, which is enough to scare away most creditors for the foreseeable future. Rather, the worst part is that you remain on the hook for some of your debts. The bankruptcy court cannot discharge fines imposed by a civil or criminal court. It also cannot discharge alimony or child support obligations or most tax debts. The fact that you cannot discharge these debts is a matter of black letter law and does not surprise any bankruptcy applicant who does his or her due diligence in preparing a bankruptcy filing. Before you file for bankruptcy, you should make a post-bankruptcy budget that accounts for the payments you must make on your non-dischargeable debts.
Creditors are Not the Only Ones Who Might Hold the Bankruptcy Filing Against You
A Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing remains on your credit report for ten years, but it is not only prospective lenders who see this credit report with the record of your bankruptcy filing. The bankruptcy filing can also reflect negatively on you when you apply for jobs or housing. Prospective landlords and employers might also conduct a background check that includes a credit report pull. Pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970, prospective employers must notify you and get your written permission before checking your credit report, and they must be transparent with you if anything on your credit report negatively influences their hiring decision.
Contact the Law Office of Melanie Tavare About Discharging Your Debts in Bankruptcy
A debt relief lawyer can help you cope with your less-than-impressive financial situation after a bankruptcy filing. Contact the Law Office of Melanie Tavare in Oakland, California, or call (510)255-4646 for a case evaluation.
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