Have you recently graduated from university? During your studies, did you rack up a large amount of credit card debt? If you're wondering how you'll ever be able to pay off all the money you owe, it may be time to file for chapter 7 bankruptcy. Here are some things you should know before filing for bankruptcy:

Your student loan debt will remain: In general, student loan debt cannot be elimiated if you file for chapter 7 bankruptcy. If you were hoping to avoid high loan payments by filing for bankruptcy, that is unfortunately not possible. However,  there can be an exception. If you have become disabled and unable to work since you graduated from university, your bankruptcy attorney may be able to get your student loan debt discharged due to hardship.

Most credit card debt can be removed: While you should talk to your bankruptcy attorney for more information, most credit card debt can be eliminated when you file for chapter 7 bankruptcy. The exception would be secured credit cards, where you would have had to send in a certain amount of money in order to open the credit card account. If you have any of these types of cards, you will still have to pay these debts back when your bankruptcy proceedings are over.

You can stop creditor harassment: If you're struggling to make your minimum payments on all your debt, you may have your creditors threatening to repossess your vehicle or foreclose on your home. Filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy can at least postpone these actions. Whether or not these debts are discharged, the additional time you get while the bankruptcy proceedings are going on will help to relieve stress caused by creditor demands. You can also use the oportunity to start paying down debt that won't be discharged by your successful bankruptcy.

You'll still have to pay child support or alimony: If you've recently graduated from university, you probably don't have either child support or alimony that needs to be paid. However, if you did happen to have a child or marry early and do owe these kinds of debtst, you'll still need to take care of these obligations no matter what the outcome of your bankruptcy proceedings happen to be. If you happen to file chapter 13 bankruptcy instead of chapter 7 bankruptcy, you and an attorney, like the ones at Morrison & Murff, will need to submit a plan outlining exacty how you intend to fully pay off any child support or alimony debt.

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