Your Debt in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Chapter 7 bankruptcy clears debt like credit card balances, medical bills, past-due rent payments, payday loans, overdue cellphone and utility bills, car loan balances, and even home mortgages in as little as four months.

Although most debts are discharged (cancelled) in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, some cannot be. Learn about these nondischargeable debts.

Priority debts get paid first in Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Find out if your cosigner or guarantor will be on the hook for your debt if you file for bankruptcy.

When your bankruptcy case is over, you can voluntarily pay off debts that your bankruptcy discharged.

If you are the cosigner on someone else’s student loan, in most courts you cannot discharge your obligation to repay that loan unless you meet bankruptcy’s undue hardship standard.

Unless you've committed fraud, you can discharge Social Security overpayments in bankruptcy.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy clears debt like credit card balances, medical bills, past-due rent payments, payday loans, overdue cellphone and utility bills, car loan balances, and even home mortgages in as little as four months.

In most cases, you can get rid of credit card debt in Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Most taxes can't be eliminated in bankruptcy, but federal income tax can be erased if it meets bankruptcy discharge requirements.

It’s possible to discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy, but it’s never been likely for most people. However, new changes to the bankruptcy procedure make student loan discharges more available to more people.

You can discharge recent income tax debt in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, but most other types of taxes are not dischargeable. Here are the details.

Although most debts are discharged (cancelled) in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, some cannot be. Learn about these nondischargeable debts.

Find out how to keep or surrender your timeshare in Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy, as well as what happens to timeshare mortgage debt and maintenance fees if you file for bankruptcy.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy does not get rid of your obligation to pay ongoing child support and back child support.

Generally, you aren't required to surrender your credit cards to the bankruptcy trustee. Depending on where you live, certain bankruptcy courts or trustees might ask you to turn them over. Learn about filing for bankruptcy on credit cards, keeping credit cards in bankruptcy, and applying for a credit card after bankruptcy.

When your bankruptcy case is over, you can voluntarily pay off debts that your bankruptcy discharged.

Generally, you aren't required to surrender your credit cards to the bankruptcy trustee. Depending on where you live, certain bankruptcy courts or trustees might ask you to turn them over. Learn about filing for bankruptcy on credit cards, keeping credit cards in bankruptcy, and applying for a credit card after bankruptcy.

Explore the impact of bankruptcy on cosigners, including their financial responsibilities and available options for protection. Essential reading for cosigners facing difficult situations.

Buying luxury goods on credit before you file bankruptcy comes with the risk of having to repay the debt. Learn why you will want to stop using credit cards before bankruptcy and the one exception to the rule.

If the trustee abandons your property Chapter 7 bankruptcy , you get to keep it. Find out more.

It’s possible to discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy, but it’s never been likely for most people. However, new changes to the bankruptcy procedure make student loan discharges more available to more people.

If you are the cosigner on someone else’s student loan, in most courts you cannot discharge your obligation to repay that loan unless you meet bankruptcy’s undue hardship standard.

Learn about secured debts and how creditors can collect them.

In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, if you don’t want to keep an item of property that serves as collateral for a secured debt, you can “surrender" it.

Learn about secured debts, what happens to them in bankruptcy, and your options for keeping or giving up the property that serves as collateral for secured debts.

You might be able to keep financed personal property in Chapter 7 by paying the creditor its value in one lump sum, a process known as Chapter 7 redemption. Often, people find they pay significantly less than what they owe.

In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can keep property secured by collateral (such as your car) by reaffirming the debt.