Have you filed for bankruptcy? Did you have no other choice and now you have to live with the consequences? Now you can get an idea of how to get through life with this article. You do have options in life, you just have to explore all of them. So take a look through this article to figure out some of your options.
Take some time each day to stop thinking about your bankruptcy. It can seem like a thought you cannot get out of your head, but it is important to step away from the situation before you become too upset. Not only that, but removing it from your thoughts allows you to bring a fresher, more optimistic perspective to the table when you take up the subject again.
If you are planning to file for bankruptcy, you do not need to lose your home, car or other items that you have loans for. If you wish to keep them, however, you must make the payments on a timely basis in order to avoid repossession. If the payments are too much to handle, your bankruptcy attorney may be able to arrange for an evaluation of your loan and negotiate a lower monthly payment. In the case of a home, you may look into a loan modification or refinance to reduce your payment amount.
Decide whether you want to file for Chapter 7, or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. As an individual, you may do either one. Find out as much as you can about each type of bankruptcy, so you are able to make a choice that you can live with in the future.
No good will come of trying to conceal your assets or your liabilities in the bankruptcy process; you want to be scrupulously honest when you declare bankruptcy. Regardless of the agency you file with, ensure that you tell them all they should know about your current financial situation, regardless of how good or bad it is. Telling the truth will allow you reach a solution that is feasible, given your current situation.
Evaluate your consultation with any lawyer by the way he or she handled the consult. Consider the length of your consult. If it lasted less than 15 minutes or it was with an assistant rather than an actual lawyer conducting the consult, this could signal that lawyer is probably not the best choice. You want someone that takes the time to handle your case personally, and you want to get your money’s worth. You should also shy away from those lawyers who pressure you with phone calls or try convincing you immediately after a consultation by getting pushy.
Be prepared to complete some mandatory courses. When you file for bankruptcy, the court will require that you successfully complete two mandatory courses, a credit counseling course and a debtor education course. Both of these courses can be completed online for a nominal fee, and while they are not too difficult, it is important that you are prepared for them.
After the completion of filing for bankruptcy, get to work reestablishing your credit score. Keep in mind that thirty-five percent of the credit score is calculated using payment history. Keep your payments on time, because you will have to battle the bankruptcy on your report for the next ten years.
Look at all of the options. Although bankruptcy can be highly damaging to your credit score when you file, it may actually help you in the future. It will remain on your credit report for ten years, but if filing for bankruptcy helps you overcome your debt now, it will be better for your credit score than making late credit card and loan payments for the rest of your life.
When you are thinking about filing bankruptcy, always be honest about everything. Do not think that hiding assets or income will help your case for bankruptcy. It could turn out that the court may just dismiss your petition, and you will not be able to file again to have those debts listed.
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.
A great personal bankruptcy tip is to take care of your monetary problems sooner, rather than later. You can always seek the help of counselors for free if you’re worried about your finances. Dealing with bankruptcy when it’s a bigger problem is not a situation you really want to be in.
Bankruptcy should not harm you for the rest of your life. Just because you have met harsh times, does not mean that there is no sign for hope. Now that you know how to live a better life while you get through your bankruptcy, you can focus on rebuilding your finances and your credit history.