A legal process in court that lets you basically say "whoops, sorry—I can't repay what I owe."
When you declare bankruptcy, you're basically getting an excuse not to pay off a bunch of your debts, including credit card debts. Once you go through the process, credit card companies, debt collectors, and other companies can't come up to you to get their money back. You may be asked to liquidate some of the things you have in order to pay back some of what you owe. And some stuff—such as custody payments—cannot be forgiven in a bankruptcy.
It's not a get out of jail free card, either. Bankruptcy basically ruins your credit rating for years and makes it hard for you to get a home loan, credit card, and other types of financing. So why would anyone do it? If you're really over your head in debt, bankruptcy can help you get a fresh start and can help protect you so you don't get your home taken away.
It's pretty much a last resort if you're in financial hot water.
Related or Semi-related Video
Finance: What is the Fair Debt Collectio...1 Views
Finance allah shmoop what is the fare debt collection practices
act fair debt collection That doesn't sound like a euphemism
for the guys with the baseball bats who knocked gently
on your door and talk with you quietly about your
poker losses there Well that whole goodfellas thing became such
a problem that the feds had to get involved in
established rules as to how far those guys with the
baseball bats could go and they came up with the
following a they can't use them the baseball bats to
hit your knee caps anyway if you don't pay your
bills be they have to listen to your pushback on
like a safe space is literally safe Space is not
like the kind of uc berkeley so they can't call
you at work and castle you thereabout bills if you
tell them not to and see they can't call you
at home in the middle of the night or bang
on your door at two a m and wake the
kids and terrify you about your bills that you owe
you owe well basically this act which became law in
nineteen seventy seven established the notion that even if you
really are a total deadbeat somebody who was stupid enough
to loan you money like you don't pay your bills
you promised to pay them and you just don't you
don't pam back You don't care about your honor self
respect you're a deadbeat but the feds took the perspective
that wealth Somebody was stupid enoughto loan you that money
in the first place and they can on li yu's
quote fair means unquote to collect the money you promised
to pay them back So what's fair Well this is
fair and this is not fair They're not they're they're
not fair All right you get the picture paid your 00:01:41.055 --> [endTime] bills
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