bankruptcy mythsSo – all those awful things you’ve always heard about bankruptcy… Did you know that almost all of it is completely untrue? Some of it is rumor, some of it is urban myth, and a lot of the stories are perpetuate by creditors who want you to be scared of bankruptcy.

Check out these top 16 myths about bankruptcy. Since it’s a long post, we’ve listed the myths and linked each one to its explanation.


Myth 1: Under the new bankruptcy law, there’s no more bankruptcy and no more help (or it’s too late to file).

FALSE. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The news media overcooked the whole story. The truth is that you can do almost everything under the new law that you could do under the old law. In some ways, the new law actually increased the benefits of filing bankruptcy.

As it turns out, many clients are getting a better break under the new law.

Surprised? Find out for yourself.
Just call toll free to (214) 760-7777 for your FREE initial consultation.

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Myth 2: Everyone will know you have filed for bankruptcy.

Unless you’re a prominent person or a major corporation and the filing is picked up by the media, the chances are very good that the only people who will know about a filing are your creditors and the people who you tell. While it’s true that your bankruptcy is a matter of public record, the number of filings is so massive, unless someone is specifically trying to track down information on you, there is almost no likelihood that anyone will even know you filed.

Remember – telling someone that someone else filed bankruptcy is good gossip – just like telling someone that you heard so-and-so is getting a divorce. So, if you don’t want everyone you know to know you filed bankruptcyy, just be sure to keep the information to yourself.

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Myth 3: You will lose everything you have.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is, most people who file bankruptcy don’t lose anything.

While laws vary from state to state, every state has exemptions that protect certain kinds of property. In Texas, there are exemptions to protect such things as your house, your car or truck, household goods and furnishings, IRAs, retirement plans, the cash value in life insurance, wages, and personal injury claims. In the rare situation where there is more property than can be protected by available exemptions, there is the alternative of Chapter 13. In Chapter 13, you can even keep this property by paying a higher Chapter 13 plan payment.

Also, filing bankruptcy does not generally wipe out liens. Therefore, if you want to keep a car, truck, home or business equipment that serves as collateral for a loan, you need to keep paying on the debt. If you make these payments and have exemptions to cover any value above what is owed, you will be able to keep these items.

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Myth 4: You will never be able to own anything again.

A surprising number of people believe this, but this is completely false. In the future, you can buy, own and possess whatever you can afford.

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Myth 5: You will never get credit again.

Quite the contrary. Filing bankruptcy gets rid of debt, and getting rid of debt puts you in a position to handle more credit – and this makes you look more attractive to would-be lenders. In my experience, it unfortunately won’t be long before you’re getting credit card offers again. I say “unfortunately” because I don’t want you to get right back in debt again. At first, the would-be lenders will want more money down and will want to charge you higher interest rates. However, over time, if you are careful, you keep your job, you start saving money, you pay your bills, and you do things that will put good marks on your credit report, the quality of your credit will get better and better. Generally, if a client has not re-established good credit in 18 to 24 months (sufficient to buy a car or even a house) it’s not because they filed bankruptcy. It generally means that something else has happened after the bankruptcy to hurt their credit.

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Myth 6: Filing bankruptcy will hurt your credit for 10 years.

FALSE. You are getting 2 completely different concepts confused with each other. You are getting the fact that bankruptcy is reported on your credit report for 10 years mixed up with the effect that reporting will have on your credit. Just because something is reported on your credit report does NOT necessarily mean it will have a negative effect on your credit standing.

Let’s get one thing out in the open: By the time you need to make an appointment to see a bankruptcy attorney, your credit is already messed up or maxed out… or both. This being the case, you have no credit for bankruptcy to hurt.

Furthermore, as I mentioned above, if you have not re-established good credit in 18 to 24 months after you file bankruptcy, it most likely has nothing to do with the fact that you filed bankruptcy. It certainly has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that your credit history still shows an old bankruptcy.

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Myth 7: If you’re married…both you and your spouse have to file for bankruptcy.

FALSE. In many cases, where both husband and wife have a lot of debt, it makes sense and saves money for them to both file – but it is never a requirement under the law. We have many cases where only one spouse has filed. The good news is that generally, if it makes sense for both spouses to file together, they can both file for the price of one filing.

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Myth 8: It’s really hard to file for bankruptcy.

It’s really not… at least not in the hands of an experienced bankruptcy attorney. In the hands of an experienced bankruptcy attorney, filing bankruptcy is easy. The decision to file may be hard, but once the decision is made, the filing part is easy.

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Myth 9: Only deadbeats file for bankruptcy.

FALSE. Most of the people who file bankruptcy are good, honest, hard-working people who file as a last resort… after months or years struggling to pay the bills that are left over from some life-changing experience. Bad things happen to good people all the time, unfortunately: divorce, the loss of a job, a failed business venture, a serious illness, or some family emergency. Many people honestly and mistakenly fell into debt at a young age before they knew better – before they knew anything about budgeting or how to manage money.

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Myth 10: Filing bankruptcy means you’re a bad person.

FALSE. There’s a reason over 1,000,000 Americans file bankruptcy each year, and it’s not because they’re bad people. Lots of good, honest, hard-working people fall on hard times. Let’s face it – life can be brutal, and sometimes, the money’s just not there. The bankruptcy laws were created with this in mind – to make sure you have a way, if need be, to get free from the burden of debt; so that you and your family can have a second chance at a “fresh start.”

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Myth 11: Filing for bankruptcy will hurt your credit.

FALSE. Think about it… By the time you come to a bankruptcy attorney, your credit is already either messed up or maxed out. If it’s already messed up or maxed out, how can bankruptcy hurt it?

The big surprise for my clients is when I tell them that filing bankruptcy can actually help them re-build their credit. Bankruptcy gets rid of debt, and getting rid of debt puts you in a better position to handle new credit – if only someone will give it to you. Therefore, bankruptcy is actually the first step in the process of re-building your credit.

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Myth 12: Even if you file for bankruptcy, creditors will still harass you and your family.

FALSE. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The minute you file bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy Court issues an order telling all of your creditors to leave you alone. No more phone calls. No more collection letters. No more lawsuits. No repossessions. No foreclosures. Nothing. This order is called the “automatic stay” and it is issued pursuant to 11 United States Code, Section 362. The automatic stay prohibits your creditors from any and all collections actions. After you file bankruptcy, the creditor is not even allowed to talk to you. In addition, the creditor must stop any collection attempts already started. The automatic stay is very powerful, and puts the full weight of the United States Courts to work for you, to make sure your creditors leave you alone. If a creditor violates the automatic stay, you have the right to bring the creditor before the Court for Contempt of Court, and to be compensated accordingly. Believe me, Bankruptcy Court Judges do not take kindly to creditors who ignore the automatic stay, and these Judges have been known to punish creditors severely. Very simply, once you file for bankruptcy, creditors must leave you alone or suffer the consequences.

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Myth 13: If you file for bankruptcy, it may cause more family troubles and may even lead to divorce.

FALSE. Usually, it works just the opposite. Filing bankruptcy is not the problem – the problem is not being able to pay your bills. All good, honest, hard-working people feel a strong need to pay their bills, and not being able to do so causes them to feel tremendous stress. Unless you do something to relieve this stress, the stress can quickly build to the breaking point – the marriage breaking point. Bankruptcy is designed to get you out from under the burden of debt, to protect your property and to lower your stress level. If your experience is like that of other couples, you will find that filing bankruptcy and lowering the stress level can be a crucial first step in bringing the love and caring back into your relationship, which in turn gives your marriage a fighting chance.

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Myth 14: You cannot get rid of back taxes through bankruptcy.

We get rid of old “income” taxes for our clients all the time. By old, I mean income taxes more than 3 years old. Under the law, there are 3 or 4 qualifications that have to be met – but once these are met, these taxes are gone. Please note: Filing bankruptcy does NOT get rid of withholding or sales taxes, no matter how old they are.

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Myth 15: You can only file once for bankruptcy protection.

The truth is, you can file and get a ‘discharge’ under Chapter 7 once every 8 years. As for filing a Chapter 7 after filing and getting a discharge in Chapter 13, the wait is 6 years, computed from ‘date of filing’ to ‘date of filing’. As for filing a case under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code, the wait is only 4 years after a prior discharged Chapter 7 or 2 years after a prior discharged Chapter 13 case, computed from ‘date of filing’ to ‘date of filing’.

There is no required wait time between bankruptcy flings, if the prior bankruptcy case was ‘dismissed’, as opposed to ‘discharged’, unless there is a specific court order to the contrary.

Hopefully though, you will never need to file more than one bankruptcy.

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Myth 16: You can pick and choose which debts and property to list in your bankruptcy.

Unfortunately, you cannot – doing so would be against the law. When you file bankruptcy, you have to list all your property and all your debts. Most people want to leave out a debt because it is their intent to keep paying on it. You can actually achieve the same goal, even though you have to list the debt. If you want to keep paying on a debt after bankruptcy, you can. After bankruptcy, you can go back and pay anybody you want. In fact, after you file bankruptcy, there are some debts you have to keep paying on. For instance, if you have a car, truck or house loan, if you want to keep the car, truck or house, you have to keep paying on the debt. More importantly, as long as you stay current on the loan and keep the property properly insured, you are protected under the law. You get to keep the property because under the law, the creditor is stuck with you and can’t do anything about it.

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