The Pros and Cons of Personal Bankruptcy
Undertaking a personal bankruptcy is not something to be taken lightly, whether you are filing chapter 13 or chapter 7. It is important to remember that this will stick with you forever. It will effect your ability to purchase a home, buy a car, or even rent an apartment for years after the case has been settled. You will have to say "yes" for questions pertaining to past bankruptcy filings on legal documents for the rest of your life.
However, bankruptcy is also the only way to stay afloat in some cases. In most bankruptcy cases you will not lose anything. It is a way to keep from having your home foreclosed on or your car reposessed. Given time it is possible to build the credit back up after a personal bankruptcy filing. You may never get back to perfect status but most filers go onto purchase houses, vehicles, and even regain credit cars. After all the filing will only remain on your credit report for 7-10 years and in the case of Chapter 13, most of that time will be spent in repayment.
So in general, bankruptcy is a hard step that should never be taken lightly. It is not however, the end of the world.