I would not recommend bankruptcy for someone with a mere $12K in debt. I would suggest that you consider whether you might be able to settle these debts for a reduced amount. You will need to offer the creditors a lump sum of cash to get a discount and you will need to have gone several months (and be in collection) in order to get the best settlement deals. The downside to doing this is that you will have a tax liablity for the amount of the debt any creditor has forgiven. Although bankruptcy does not require you to have a set dollar amount of debt, any bankruptcy case must be filed in good faith, which means that it would be nearly impossible for you to be able to realistically pay off this debt.
Answered on Dec 28th, 2012 at 3:14 PM