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What are some of the Common Myths about Filing Bankruptcy?
Everyone finds out when people file for bankruptcy.
While bankruptcy filings are a matter of public record, it is unlikely that anyone would find out about your case unless you told them or they were specifically researching you to find out if you filed. In our experience, the newspaper does not publish the names of those who file bankruptcy. Really the only ones that end up knowing are you and your creditors.
The Bankruptcy Court will take away your possessions.
Every state has their own rules about bankruptcy and exemptions, but the bottom line is that everyone is allowed a certain amount of exemptions to protect their property during bankruptcy. This means that you don't just lose everything you have. There are some situations where perhaps you own more than we can protect with the allowed exemptions. For cases like these, we usually recommend filing a Chapter 13, but, again, no one takes away your property.
Owning your own property will never be an option again.
Bankruptcy does not prevent you from being able to buy or own whatever you can afford down the line.
Forget about ever being able to get credit again.
Filing for bankruptcy allows you to do just the opposite. It allows you to rid yourself of those debts and before too long you can expect to start receiving those credit card offers in the mail again. The people that have bad credit after filing are the ones that continue to follow bad habits after getting their fresh start. If the filing is used as a point to start over and a person starts to practice responsible spending, he or she can rebuild his or her credit.
Your credit will be ruined for 10 years.
It should be noted that there is a difference between negative credit and a notation of bankruptcy filing on one's credit report. Negative credit occurs when bad spending repeatedly is practiced and not corrected. The notation of a debt being discharged through bankruptcy is something that creditors will see, but they will be more concerned about whether or not a person continues to make their current payments on time and is demonstrating new responsibility.
You and your spouse both have to file for bankruptcy if you are married.
It is not mandatory for married couples to file together. In most cases, it makes more sense for a married couple to file together as it is the same price to file as a couple as it is to file as an individual, and it ensures that all debts are included in the case. It is possible to file without one's spouse, however. The term used in bankruptcies for this is non-filing spouse.
The process of filing is very difficult.
If you hire an attorney that is familiar with bankruptcy and knows what he or she is doing, the process can be extremely easy. It only becomes difficult if you're unfamiliar with the laws and don't know what forms to file to get your case discharged. A good attorney can make a world of difference in how stressful the whole case turns out to be for you.
Only vagrants file for bankruptcy.
A large majority of the people that file for bankruptcy wish they could pay their debts back, but for one reason or another, maybe their situations changed, they just can't. Many people experience the uncertainty of what to do next when something unexpected happens. What are you going to do if you lose your job? What if you end up in the hospital and insurance won't cover all of your expenses? What are you supposed to do if your house needs immediate repairs? Everyone runs into financial problems sometimes and that does not make you a deadbeat.
If you file bankruptcy, you are a bad person.
It's just not true. Millions of Americans file bankruptcy every year for one reason or another. The laws were created to help protect honest, hard-working people from suffering through their financial disasters. You have fallen on difficult times. That does not make you a bad person.
Your credit will suffer if you file for bankruptcy.
Think about it for a second. If you're considering consulting a bankruptcy attorney, then it is likely that you already have credit issues. Filing for bankruptcy will not hurt your current situation. In fact, it could be more harmful to do nothing at all because the longer you stay delinquent with your payments; the more it negatively affects your credit. You might as well stop the negative activity cold and start afresh.
Creditors still harass you and your family even with a bankruptcy filing.
This is absolutely not true. Creditors do not want to risk having to pay our clients for violating the rights that filing for bankruptcy provides for them. That's right. They might have to pay you if they tried to contact you despite your bankruptcy filing.
Filing for bankruptcy may cause a divorce and more family troubles than it's worth.
It seems more likely that what causes divorce is the stress of not being able to pay your bills. Seeing as how bankruptcy is a device for relief from that situation, it would seem that filing may actually help keep marriages together. With the freedom from that stress, it may actually allow families to finally relax and feel better about their situation together.
Bankruptcy does not get rid of your back taxes.
Some taxes are completely dischargeable through bankruptcy. Older income taxes from certain years fall into this group. It is a bit more complicated, though, so it is best to set up an appointment to discuss matters that involve past due taxes.
It is only possible to file for bankruptcy once.
You can file a Chapter 7 eight years after the previous filing. The restrictions for filing a Chapter 13 are even more relaxed than they are for the Chapter 7. Of course, we hope that you don't have to file more than once, but it is an option if you need to.
It is possible to pick and choose the debts and property that you list in your bankruptcy.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. We understand that there may be some debts that you would like to pay back even though you don't necessarily have to. It just does not work that way. Not listing certain debts is against the bankruptcy laws. After the bankruptcy, however, you can pay back whatever debts you would like. In fact, some debts you will be obligated to continue paying in order to maintain ownership of certain things. Cars, houses, boats, etc. have to be paid in order to retain them even with the filing.
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