Will Bankruptcy Affect My Credit?

There is no clear answer to this question. Unfortunately, if you are behind on your bills, your credit is likely already bad. Bankruptcy will probably not make things any worse. If you have had a foreclosure or repossession in the relatively recent past, this is very likely true.

The fact that you’ve filed a bankruptcy can appear on your credit record for ten years. But that does NOT mean you will be unable to borrow money for the next ten years, far from it. Because bankruptcy wipes out your old debts, potential new creditors know you are likely to be in a better position to pay your current bills than you were before bankruptcy.

In fact, it has not been unusual for past clients to tell me about credit offers arriving unsolicited in the mail, mere months after their bankruptcy is complete. This is not a recommendation that you run out and get more credit right after bankruptcy, just an observation that it's not at all impossible.