The four bankruptcy filings are chapters 7, 11, 12 and 13. Chapter 7 is the most common of all the filings. Chapter 7 requires you to liquidate your finances. You will have to start over from scratch after filing bankruptcy chapter 7. A trustee liquidates your assets and any monies made from the sale are applied towards your debt. After the sale of your assets, any monies received are distributed among the creditors. Any left over debt is forgiven and you will be debt free. If you have debts that were not forgiven, you cannot include them on any future bankruptcies you may file.

Chapter 13 and chapter 12 bankruptcy filings are almost the same except chapter 12 is pertains to family farmers and chapter 13 is for everyone else. You do have to have a job and an income before you can file for either chapter. Secured debt and unsecured debt criteria must be met in order to file either chapter. A monthly repayment plan is proposed to the creditors and the trustee makes sure that all creditors are paid monthly.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings are similar to chapter 13 except there is no limit as to the amount of money you owe to the creditors. Individual can use the filing that was once intended for corporations. If you have a debt amount over $269,250 for unsecured debt and over $807,750 for secured debt, you can use chapter 11. If the amount is under these amounts, you would qualify for chapter 12 or 13.

Bankruptcy filings stay on your credit report for seven to ten years. You cannot file in bankruptcy court for seven years after the discharge of the first one. Before filing for bankruptcy, you need to consider all your options. A credit counselor might have a different way to for you to get your debts paid off without choosing any bankruptcy filings.