Credit report necessary to file bankruptcy?

No, you don’t have to pull a credit report before filing bankruptcy. You are required to disclose all your debts, but a credit report is not required to do that. Typically debtors know who they owe and don’t need a credit report to remind them.

Often times, though, people aren’t certain who their creditors are, in which case a credit report is a helpful tool in preparing a bankruptcy petition (paperwork filed with bankruptcy court). Still, credit reports are not always accurate and shouldn’t be considered the definitive document defining your debt.

If your debt is old, mixed in with a spouse (or ex-spouse) or otherwise not certain, a credit report is a good source to help disclose your debt. If you miss or fail to disclose a creditor because of a bad memory or credit report, you are still protected through your bankruptcy filing. All debts before your bankruptcy are automatically part of your bankruptcy whether they are included in your bankruptcy petition or not. A creditor, then, cannot claim you still owe a debt because it wasn’t properly listed in your bankruptcy paperwork. This is particularly true in collection company cases where debts are parceled out amongst numerous collectors, many of whom you may never even be aware of.

Car accident injury and bankruptcy

Car accident injuries and bankruptcy relate in two primary ways:

1. If you caused an accident and are liable for another’s injuries or losses;

2. You were injured in a car accident caused by someone else.

If you were responsible for an accident that resulted in someone else’s injury, you may be liable for damages, meaning you may owe that other person money for their medical bills, pain & suffering, wage loss or property (car) damage. If you don’t have insurance, or enough insurance to cover the potential claim, you could be personally liable. Bankruptcy eliminates this type of debt and is a common cause of bankruptcy filing.

If you were injured by someone else in a car accident (or other type of accident), you have a potential claim against that person. That money you may get from the accident must be disclosed in your bankruptcy and, almost always, can be protected (exempted) entirely, meaning you can keep what you get from the injury and still eliminate your debts through your bankruptcy filing.

Bankruptcy means test: what is it?

The means test in bankruptcy is a test to determine whether someone qualifies for bankruptcy. What the means test measures is whether someone can afford to pay their debts. If they can’t, their debts can be discharged, or eliminated, through a bankruptcy filing. If they can pay their debts, or at least a portion of them, the means test tells what they than can pay and what they can’t. Whatever debt can’t be paid can be discharged through bankruptcy.

There are a number of factors that go into the means test including, but not limited to, family income, size and expenses. Since the many variables can make the difference whether someone qualifies for bankruptcy or not, it is best to seek help on this subject.

Remember, bankruptcy consultations are always free!

Bankruptcy: can my employer discriminate against me for filing?

No. An employer cannot discriminate against you for filing bankruptcy. Federal law protects an employee’s right to file bankruptcy without retribution, discrimination or retaliation. You cannot be fired, demoted or put in jeopardy of your job for filing bankruptcy. You are safe!