Today their are plenty of bankruptcy attorneys posting ads all over TV looking to give you the so called easy way out of your debts but is it. Before you can consider ever reason bankruptcy will solve your problems, you also need to consider what is life after bankruptcy like?
In this article I’m going to cover three things that could change you life after filing bankruptcy and give you several question you think about before you consider the big “B.”
Loans and Credit
The first thing that will change in life after bankruptcy discharge is the availability of loans and credit. In most cases your loans will be either liquidated or put into a payment plan and paid off over time.
Your credit score will be lowered dramatically with it now bearing the scar of bankruptcy. In fact you will not be able to get any type of loan for at least a couple of years.
The average bankruptcy will last on your credit report for a minimum of 7 to 10 years. This means no more credit cards, mortgages, car loans, or any other loans for that fact. Your life will literally come to a stand still as credit and loans will dry up like a dessert.
You will have to rely on cash only to survive. No more quick and easy credit cards to pay for dinner or a night out on the town. You will have to live a slimmed down lifestyle that will require you to have a strong will and a ton of patance.
Do you have the will?
Housing
The next thing that may change for you is where you live. If you are filing a chapter 7 bankruptcy you may lose your home, however with a chapter 13 bankruptcy they may be able to impose a homestead exemption to protect your home from being lost. However if your home has a lot equity in it they may likely sell your home in order to cover a portion of your debts.
The problem is life after bankruptcy chapter 7 and life after bankruptcy chapter 13 can effect where you may end up living at. As in the last section I talked about how your credit will be ruined once you file bankruptcy and receive your discharge papers. No lender in their right mind will give you a loan then.
This may force you find an apartment to rent. However the problem here is that most apartment owners are now looking at peoples credit scores as a way to qualify renters. If they see that you have a bad credit score and that you have filed for bankruptcy they be less willing to rent the apartment to you.
To make things worse you may to down grade the type of neighborhood you will live in altogether. In fact you may have to move to a neighborhood that has more crime, violence, drugs, and accepts section 8 housing. On top of that they may not have as high of quality schools which means this could have a huge effect on your child’s education.
Is this what you want for your family?
Your Job
Third, you need to consider how this could effect your career. If you’re in between jobs right or recently laid off this could effect where you will get your next job.
Employers are increasing checking potential employees credit reports as a means of qualifying them. The reason they are doing this is because they want to know how they handle their finances, but also because a lot of companies are starting to get away from the practice of asking for references.
The reason companies are moving away from this practice is because of the legal liabilities involved. So instead they will check their credit report to see how they handle their money.
This could potentially limit you to getting that dream job you have always wanted. Instead you could end working at a dead end job that is a lot less desirable. On top of that your pay will decrease and you will make less money all as a result of filing for bankruptcy.
Is this what you want to do to your career?
In Closing…
I hope this article has brought up a lot of interesting questions for you to consider. In the end it could mean the difference between you living the life you’ve always wanted to something that is not. I hope this article on life after bankruptcy will help you see that bankruptcy is something you should not consider lightly.
