What is Bankruptcy?
Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 13?

A Chapter 7 bankruptcy may enable you to get rid of all your unsecured debts. In most cases, if you have barely enough or less than enough income to live on, not counting payment of your credit card (and other unsecured) debts, you can make all of your credit card debts go away. If, however, when you look at your monthly budget you have a significant amount of cash left over without paying your credit card (unsecured) debts, you will not be permitted to proceed with a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Instead you will be required to file a Chapter 13, also alternatively described as a "debt consolidation" or wage earner bankruptcy.

In a Chapter 13 proceeding, the court will require you to pay, usually for three years, all of your disposable income to the bankruptcy trustee, who will in turn pay your creditors. The amount of your monthly payment to the trustee will be approximately equal to the amount of the cash you ordinarily have on hand after you pay your basic necessary living expenses. In many cases, you will not have to pay back everything that you owe. For instance, if you have $100,000.00 in unsecured debt, but you only have $500.00 per month of income available to pay the creditors, your unsecured creditors may receive a total of only $18,000.00 over a period of three years (that's $500.00 multiplied by thirty-six months).