April 22nd, 2010How to Claim Bankruptcy – Points to Look At
These days many people are becoming interested in finding out how to claim bankruptcy, which is a situation that arises when individuals can no longer service or repay their debts.
It is not always the individual themself who files for bankruptcy. In some situations a creditor can file what is called a bankruptcy order against the individual who owes money. This will proceed whether the individual likes it or not.
The process itself is fairly straightforward, but bankruptcy should only be entered into as a very last resort, as it’s effects are far reaching and life changing.
So what should one be aware of in filing for bankruptcy?
The most popular chapter to file bankruptcy under is chapter 7, where an individual has all debt taken away. Not all debt can be written off however, and if the main contributor to the bankruptcy is debt that has to be repaid, a chapter 13 bankruptcy is the more appropriate chapter.
Coming out of chapter 7 has 2 main disadvantages.
The first and most difficult is the fact that virtually all your worldly goods are sold and the money disbursed amongst your creditors, leaving you with very little.
The second is that although any remaining debt is cancelled, those who you have not repaid in full will likely as not, be very reluctant to engage in any financial activity with you in the future.
It doesn’t have to be this way however if you qualify for chapter 13 bankruptcy.
Anyone filing for bankruptcy now has to complete a financial means test.
There is also an examination of your income over the past 6 months, and if it is found to be above the median income for a family of the same size as yours in the same state, and you fail the means test, you are in elligible for chapter 7 bankruptcy. In this case one would normally file chapter 13 bankruptcy.
No personal property is liquidated under chapter 13, but all debt is repaid under a 3-5 year repayment plan.
The means test used to define an individuals allowances and income is complex and quite harsh. The means test can also make your income look better than it is, resulting in a repayment plan that leaves an individual with very little disposable income.
After bankruptcy, rebuilding one’s credit score is vital. Your credit record will retain details of a chapter 7 bankruptcy for a period of 10 years and a chapter 13 for 7 years.
To read further free inTo readmation on how to claim bankruptcy and the different chapters and how they work, go to www.howtoclaimbankruptcy.net Don’t reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.