Is chapter 7 a right move for me?

Your dischargeable debt is very low. Contact your creditors and arrange a low payment.

Filing a bankruptcy case to discharge under $5000 seems to me to be a fairly heavy-handed solution. I would try to work out some sort of arrangement to pay.

I would try to avoid BK. Discharging $4,400 doesn't seem worth it. Talk to a lawyer about negotiating a reduced amount. Good luck!

No lawyer can advise you on your best course without meeting with you, exploring all the facts and your goals. $4,400 is indeed a rather small amount of money in relation to the costs and several burdens of bankruptcy. It's probably best to try to negotiate terms with each creditor, either for a discount or for extended payment terms. Good Luck.

So you are going to file chapter 7 bankruptcy, liquidation type of bankruptcy, to discharge $4,400 of debt? That seems ridiculous. Maybe I'm missing something OR are you referring to chapter 13, which is a repayment/restructure type of bankruptcy, which you hope will help you manage your student loan payments. If you're contemplating chapter 13, your attorney should advise you on best course of action. Don't file chapter 13 without one. If these are federal student loans, there are alternative repayment plans that tie the payment to your income. Investigate these. Information is available at various govt websites: US Department of Education, Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.

Don?t expect me to advise bankruptcy for you unless student loans are garnishing you and you want to structure repayment in Chapter 13. I require at least $20,000 in debt before considering meeting with someone about chapter 7 bankruptcy,

I refer to bankruptcy as the "nuclear option" because it blows up your credit rating and you have to start over. It is a last resort when you can't find any other way to work out your debt. You are right to question whether $4400 is sufficient debt to file a bankruptcy. You should try to negotiate a settlement or manageable payments on your debt before filing bankruptcy. Some lawyers are willing to help you do that for an hourly fee. If you have made a good faith effort to settle your debts and there are still creditors who are threatening to take more from you than you can afford, then bankruptcy might be your last resort to protect yourself or your family.

Bankruptcy should be considered the last resort. For some people $4400 is more than they will ever see in one place at one time in their entire lives. For others it is not a great deal. There are any number of factors to be considered. Are creditors pressing. Is there a garnishment likely? What do your prospects look like, i.e. do you have the education and ability to get a better paying job. There are endless other factors. In the final analysis, bankruptcy is forever. It is on your credit report for 10 years. You cannot file another Chapter 7 and get a discharge for 8 years. Are there possibilities of illness or something catastrophic that might make you wish you hadn't filed. It is never right and never wrong. It is a legal process that should be using sparingly when necessary. In the final analysis, you need to live with yourself and no one can truly answer whether it is right or wrong except you.