While it is true that bankruptcy court records, for the most part, are public record, it is not necessarily true that everyone will know that you have filed for bankruptcy.
The newspaper that publishes bankruptcies in our area is a legal newspaper, and even then its not like your case number would be listed on the front page. Most people who are not legal professionals do not subscribe or otherwise have access to these legal publications. The only time that a bankruptcy usually makes headlines is when it is a big business or a famous person.
According to the U.S. States Courts statistics, from March 2011 to March 2012 there were almost one-and-a-half MILLION bankruptcies filed. Which means most people such as your neighbors, fellow church members and your children’s teachers will have no idea if you are currently involved in a bankruptcy under regular circumstances and the odds may be that at least one of them have sought bankruptcy relief in the past. Now if your neighbors, fellow church members and your children’s teachers lent you money and are considered a creditor, you would have to list them in your petition and they would subsequently receive notice of your filing. But as you can imagine, that is not typically the case.
So who does monitor bankruptcy case filings? Well, ironically, lenders who are interested in lending to people who are in the middle of bankruptcies do. Expect to receive offers from credit cards and even automobile lenders who target people in your situation if you have filed for bankruptcy.
This may seem odd to you, however after filing for bankruptcy many lenders recognize that you are less of a credit risk. For starters, you are not tied to most, if not all, of the consumer debt you had prior to filing. Also, lenders know that you cannot file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection again for another eight years. They know that if you did have to file for bankruptcy protection again within that time that you would be limited to a Chapter 13 filing. In which case they are more likely to recoup some, if not all, of the money they lent you. Furthermore, bankruptcy is often a once in a lifetime event. Many people rebound from their bankruptcy and never look back again and lenders know this is the case more often than not.
So when considering filing for bankruptcy, try not to let the shame that is often associated with bankruptcy deter you from your fresh start. Chances are the people you are most concerned about knowing that you have filed will never know. To find out for sure, contact Husker Law and schedule a initial consultation.
