It's worth repeating: You are not a failure if you file for bankruptcy.

Will people think poorly of me because I did so?  A question that often bubbles to the surface in client meetings, even if never asked, it is there.

Inflation, rising property taxes, trying to help the kids, well you know what's next - use the credit cards to make ends meet.  Then there are the school bills, kid's activities, medical bills, and you have run out of money.  Retirement is no longer the "golden years" because social security payments just don't cover the bills.

There are a lot of reasons people need protection under the bankruptcy code, one of the most important being people just do not want to lose their home and they don't have to, because bankruptcy gives them a way of staying in their home and catching up on past due mortgage payments, while ridding themselves of credit card debt.  Bankruptcy, because of the "exemptions", (please read my blog article on exemptions) allows you to keep a reasonable level of assets, which in most homeowner’s cases is all of the assets they have.

When you decide to address your difficult financial position, you succeed.  The solution may be a credit consolidation loan, or it may be a loan modification program with the lender who holds your home mortgage or a reverse mortgage or a Chapter 13 repayment plan. 

You may use Chapter 13 of the bankruptcy code to catch up on your overdue home loan payments or past-due car payments. 

In any event, when you face the problem and decide to find a solution, you are never a failure.  Sometimes, bankruptcy is simply the answer.

You have decided that you will control the outcome of a difficult situation, rather than letting it control you.