How would filing bankruptcy affect my credit?

Filing bankruptcy will hurt good credit, but it won’t hurt bad credit. If you’re reading this, then probably your credit is not good enough to solve your problems by borrowing money. In fact, most debtors already are in some stage of a lawsuit, or they have a repossession or foreclosure, or they are just falling behind in their payments. Any of these events will hurt your credit, and usually people simply do not have the option of having perfect credit, regardless of what they do. Consequently, the effect of bankruptcy on your credit is usually not the determining factor as to whether it would be a good idea to file.

It is also true that you can borrow money after you file either a Chapter 13 or a Chapter 7. In Chapter 13, a debtor has to get court approval (by filing a motion) to take out a loan, but this is not hard to receive so long as the specific purpose is necessary and reasonable. In Chapter 7, court permission is not normally required after you file (such as when you want to buy a car to replace the one you’ve decided to surrender). When in doubt, you should always ask the lawyer.