Many of our clients are surprised to learn bankruptcy can change their lives for the better. The credit and collections industries treat it like it’s one of the worst tragedies that could ever befall a family.

In reality, it’s nothing more than a form of legal relief. It’s built and baked into our economic system. Our economy, in fact, would not function without it. And the corporations who are so rabidly collecting money from you and who are attempting to shame you into paying them wouldn’t hesitate to declare bankruptcies themselves if it ensured their survival.

So you can safely put aside any guilt or fear, and focus only on whether this legal process can make your life better. And while you’re the only one who can make this decision, we can give you a list of effects bankruptcy will have. You can then decide for yourself if these effects will make your life better or worse.

Collection agents will stop calling you.

You never have to talk to collection agents anyway, and there are certainly a number of call blocking tools on the market. But nobody wants to play FDCPA “do not contact me” whack-a-mole all day long.

And sometimes deciding not to talk to collection agents can inspire them to launch a lawsuit, so simply ignoring them is a dangerous strategy.

See also: Can Collection Agencies Send You Text Messages?

You will no longer be in danger of getting sued.

A lawsuit can lead to seized assets and wage garnishments. And next to a foreclosure, a judgement is one of the worst things that can possibly appear on your credit report.

They’re also just incredibly stressful, time-consuming, and expensive. The moment you file for bankruptcy, the automatic stay kicks in and the lawsuit stops. Once you have your discharge, it goes away entirely.

See also: How to Respond to an Orange County, NY Debt Lawsuit

Repossession and foreclosure fears will be a thing of the past.

You’ll have to work with your lawyer so you structure your bankruptcy correctly. But it is 100% possible to keep your house or car during and after your bankruptcy.

As long as you can continue paying these bills after your bankruptcy relieves your household financial stress you can keep both of these assets. And if you can’t, Chapter 13 can buy you some time to sell the house, find a new place to live, and otherwise deal with the problem without any fear that you’ll be facing an immediate eviction.

Your credit score will get up.

For most of our clients, this is the biggest, most pleasant surprise. Typically, our client’s credit scores go up by a considerable margin.

Your debt-to-income ratio drops. The number of open delinquent accounts is reduced to zero. All that negative payment history is replaced by a simple statement that the debt was discharged in bankruptcy.

And you’ll be surprised to find that you’ll start receiving credit card offers and car loan offers almost directly after your discharge. You shouldn’t necessarily race to take the lenders up on these offers, but you can take it as a sign that you will be able to get credit again in the future.

See also: Can I Get a Car Loan After Bankruptcy?

You’ll have a chance to revamp your budget.

No more payments, except perhaps for your house payment and your car payment. You’ve just put hundreds of dollars back into your budget. You can now figure out how to downsize and live within your means in spite of whatever brought you to this crossroads in the first place.

And you can start planning and making moves that help you avoid this situation in the future.

Have you decided bankruptcy is right for you? 

Contact our office for a free consultation. All these benefits happen only when you have a qualified lawyer by your side, helping you do bankruptcy right.