If you want to pay your bills, but cannot, and you need a fresh start in your financial life, a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy may be an option for you. The Chapter 7 bankruptcy, also known as the "straight" bankruptcy, is ideal for individuals with mostly unsecured consumer debt, such as credit cards. Under Chapter 7, your bankruptcy attorney will ask the Bankruptcy Court to discharge or cancel as much of your debt as possible. Unsecured debt is almost always discharged. If you have secured debt, such as mortgaged property and financed vehicles, you can choose to return the property to the securing party, usually a bank, or keep the property and continue to make the payments. While we are unable to discharge secured debt, for most people the relief they receive from the discharge of the unsecured debt allows them to catch up on and maintain secured debt payments.
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