Comments for Debt Diet Part III, Time to File Bankruptcy? at http://www.dailyworth.com , comment 1 to 7 out of 7 comments http://www.dailyworth.com Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:20:18 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.dailyworth.com/blog/372-debt-diet-part-iii-time-to-file-bankruptcy#comment-1546 Krist - It's been very difficult for most student loan borrowers to meet the standards that allow for discharge of student loan debts in bankruptcy. Once in a while it happens, but it's far from common. Jaime - That was a good article, as was MP's article in the New York Times on this topic. - Gerri Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:45:45 +0100 http://www.dailyworth.com/blog/372-debt-diet-part-iii-time-to-file-bankruptcy#comment-1507 So unfair..... All the laws and protection are for the debtor, what about an article to help the creditor? - CREDITOR Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:09:36 +0100 http://www.dailyworth.com/blog/372-debt-diet-part-iii-time-to-file-bankruptcy#comment-1504 Actually, you can discharge student loans in bankruptcy when there is a finding of undue hardship. - krist Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:14:47 +0100 http://www.dailyworth.com/blog/372-debt-diet-part-iii-time-to-file-bankruptcy#comment-1503 I forgot to address Anne's comment: You can file for tax bankruptcy, but ch. 7 alone doesn't include taxes. - MP Dunleavey Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:57:09 +0100 http://www.dailyworth.com/blog/372-debt-diet-part-iii-time-to-file-bankruptcy#comment-1502 Liz is a colleague of mine at MSN Money--and I read that piece of hers, too. Thank you for mentioning it! - MP Dunleavey Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:55:20 +0100 http://www.dailyworth.com/blog/372-debt-diet-part-iii-time-to-file-bankruptcy#comment-1501 One of my favorite online financial writers, Liz Pulliam Weston, said (and I paraphrase so blame me if I get it wrong, not her) that part of your considerations for filing should include how long it takes to repair your credit vs. how long it would take you to pay off your debt. So, if your credit will be trashed for 7 years (bankruptcy is not as big a deal as it once was, but as an example I'll use the classic 7 years) but it'll take you 10 years to pay off your debt yourself - might be a good idea to file bankruptcy. If you can pay off your debt in 3 years though, it might be a better option to pay it off. That is a very general consideration and she wrote more, but I love one aspect of the point I think she was making. Mainly, sometimes I think people feel so overwhelmed by the thought that it might take years to pay off that they think bankruptcy is the only option. However, paying off your debt IS part of your responsibility and while 3 or 4 or 5 years is a long time, well that's life. I know that many people declare bankruptcy when they really need to - they have outrageous hospital bills or a failed business. However, I've personally known several people who declared bankruptcy because they spent irresponsibly and lived beyond their means - they didn't take responsibility for their spending when they were buying things and certainly didn't take responsibility for the resultant debts. On the other hand, there is the emotional stress of so much debt as well. I want people to be proactive and take control of their debt, take responsibility but I don't think that someone should be tortured for making mistakes. I just hate to see people giving up too early - it IS tough to pay it off and it should be. If it was easy to pay off your debt then you wouldn't be as likely to learn your lesson for next time. I know it took 2 painful years of paying off completely unnecessary credit card debt to really beat the lesson into my skull. - Jaime Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:02:27 +0100 http://www.dailyworth.com/blog/372-debt-diet-part-iii-time-to-file-bankruptcy#comment-1500 Chapter 7 Bankruptcy does payoff all your back taxes. - Anne Watson Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:58:55 +0100