What are the most important things I need to know before considering bankruptcy?

There are many factors when considering bankruptcy such as your debt to income ratio, which assets you would like to protect, if you are planning to buy a car or house in the near future, if you qualify for a bankruptcy, and/or which bankruptcy is right for you. The best thing to do is to consult with a professional prior to filing.

Whether you qualify & whether you're putting any assets at risk.

There is a means test to see if you even qualify. You should know that it will affect your credit for about 10 years. If anything is co-signed by someone they maybe responsible on the debt.

Here's my top five things: 1. Don't do it unless you feel like you have to. 2. It's not as bad as you think. 3. Yes, it will affect your credit (but so does not being able to pay your bills!) 4. Talk to an attorney about what you think you know (you are probably wrong on a lot of it) 5. Really, it's not as bad as you think.

Bankruptcy is a very complicated process. It is wise to talk to an experienced bankruptcy attorney before deciding to take this important step.

One thing that I would definitely consider before filing bankruptcy is whether you will qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Assuming you are not a family farmer or fisherman, there are two bankruptcy options for you. Chapter 7 is what's known as a liquidation, and if you have very few assets, you can discharge much of your debt without having to pay it back. Chapter 13 is what's known as reorganization, and a bankruptcy under this chapter reorganizes your debts, and you pay some of them back over a three to five year period. All other things being equal, you'd prefer to file Chapter 7 over Chapter 13 (because paying nothing back is better than having to make payments). In order to qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you will have to pass the "means test." The means test compares your family's income to the median income of your state, and if your income (adjusted for family size is above the state median, you will not qualify for Chapter 7. In Illinois, if your average monthly income over the past six months was less than $6,595 per month and you have a family of four, you qualify for a Chapter 7 discharge. This figure is updated regularly.

Whether you qualify, whether you will lose any property and whether it meets your goals.

The most important thing to know about bankruptcy is that the trade off for obtaining the benefits of bankruptcy requires you to be painfully honest in submitting information to the court. Another important thing to understand is that you want to get as much bang for you buck as you can from bankruptcy. Don't file unless you truly have no other reasonable option.

The most important thing is to realize that bankruptcy can be a wonderful tool to help a person regain some degree of control over their finances and debt, however it is a process that can be filled with pitfalls for the unwary filer. People can (and do) lose assets unnecessarily when they file on their own without the benefit of legal advice from an experienced bankruptcy attorney.

There is WAY too much in the answer to give it here. You need to consult an attorney in your area. Filing pro se is very difficult and if that is your starting point, you will need representation .