One of the main concerns of my clients is their credit score.  Many of them have witnessed its decline and felt the effects of a loan rejection or higher interest rate on credit.   Often, the first thing they ask me is, "What will happen to my credit score if I file bankruptcy?" In most cases, after you file a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and receive a discharge (which normally takes about 4 months from the date of filing) the credit scores actually climb up. This is true after a Chapter 13 discharge, as well.  However, typically, in a chapter 13, you don't receive a discharge until you finish the plan.  The plan ranges from 3 to 5 years. After I tell my clients this, the next question is, how can that be? Your credit report has probably already been damaged by late payments, no payments, charge off's, collections, repossessions and foreclosures or any combination of these.  Once you receive a discharge, these items show that they have been discharged in a bankruptcy.  The negative … [Read more...]