No. Filing bankruptcy does not make you a bad person.
There is this perception that people are running around intentionally charging up their credit cards, so they can just get rid of it in a bankruptcy. Like an evil villain in an old movie… rubbing their hands together… laughing maliciously. Muah hah hah! It’s an absurd image.
In my experience, the client who intentionally runs up debt is rare. I won’t take those cases. What happens 99.9% of the time it that my clients do EVERYTHING in their power to avoid a bankruptcy. Some life event significantly reduced their income or increased their expenses. People get divorced, they fight for their kids, they lose jobs, they lose children, they get sick, get in car accidents, lose a major client, and occasionally make a bad choice… The downward spiral begins. They fight and fight for a very long time. Then something worse happens… a foreclosure notice… a garnishment…a repossession. That’s usually when someone calls me.
More often than not, my clients should have come to me much sooner than they did. I could have minimized the damage to their assets and credit had they come earlier. But, the guilt holds people back.
Beating yourself up about the debt is not productive. I know you did everything you could to resolve this prior to seeing me. It’s time to move forward. Figure out the best solution for your debty problem by speaking to an experienced bankruptcy attorney. Then make an informed decision.
Until next time,
Athena