Can I file for bankruptcy if I don't have a lot of debt? 22 Answers as of February 17, 2012

You can, but it may not be the best avenue. You should consult with an attorney.

There are always other options to bankruptcy. They may help you or not. However, without knowing more details about your situation, it is very difficult to give you more guidance. We don't know how small is your debt, what kind of assets you own or what other liabilities, if you owe debts together with another person or by yourself, the type of debts, etc. We would also need to know your income, your spouse's income (if married) and how many dependents you have, among a few other facts to be able to let you know if bankruptcy could an option and if it would work for you. You shall have a consultation with an experienced attorney handling these matters to be able to property guide you on this matter.

There is no minimum debt amount to file bankruptcy. You can either file bankruptcy, or go on a payment plan with your creditors.

Filing bankruptcy is a very serious decision which can have long term effects on your personal credit history as well as ability to secure credit in the future. Although it is not clear how much debt you actually owe, it may be a better option for you to pursue debt settlements or resolutions rather then filing bankruptcy. Also, it should be taken into account that bankruptcy petitions are analyzed and subject to specific guidelines, which the debtor must comply with. You should consult with an experienced attorney who can give you a personal consultation for your specific needs.

Try and see if they will settle for a smaller amount. You don't want to file bankruptcy unless you have significant debt and it is your only option! See if they will take small payments if you close the accounts down. If they are medical bills, they almost always will. Good luck!

The amount of debt is irrelevant when it comes to file bankruptcy. If you can't repay the debt, then it's too much for you. You might have other options, but you should meet with a debt relief attorney in order to determine what is the best course of action for you.

Debt settlement could be a better alternative to bankruptcy depending on the following analysis of your situation: 1) Your total income from all sources; 2) Your total debt: Calculate your total debt by checking your credit report. This will determine the extent of your indebtedness including late fees, collections, etc). At www.annualcreditreport.com you request your credit report for free if you do this once per year, or if you are unemployed, or were denied credit, etc.); 3) A lump sum which you have: Normally, credit cards companies offer the best settlement deals when you can pay them a lump sum. Thus, if you do not have a lump sum, then you would need to calculate the time when you can save it. Compare your debt and income. If your debt is substantially more than your income (after substracting from income your living expenses), then you can hardly save anything to settle your bills with a lump sum. And as such, you probably should not do settlement. On a side note, some companies will not settle unless a person is delinquent on his/her account for a specific period of time. Delinquency (late fees/penalties) will damage a credit score. In some cases, you can save your credit if creditors agree to report your account status to the credit bureaus as "Paid in full," etc. You can settle your debt by yourself, or contact a credit repair attorneys who will assist you in that.

There is generally no debt minimum to file a Ch 7 bankruptcy case. You should however consult with an attorney to discuss whether settlement of the debts is feasible and/or an option, or whether a payment plan under Ch 13 is a better option. Your income and personal assets all play a role in a determination of what is best in your particular circumstances. The value of an attorney consultation is that these special circumstances which are particular to you only can be fully and properly analyzed after a thorough intake process and consultation with the lawyer.

You can settle them. But it will still affect your credit. Don't hire debt settling companies, they actually don't help you and you'll end up paying more, you're better off doing it yourself.

You might need to set up a payment plan with the creditors. The less money you owe, the more likely it will be that the court will believe you have the ability to pay the debts. If so, you might not be eligible for bankruptcy. Our firm requires that clients owe a certain amount in order for us to take the case. I don't know if you have the ability to get a loan from somewhere to help you out with the bills and then repay it as you can (maybe friends or family).

You absolutely can file.

You can file bankruptcy regardless of the amount of debt you have. However, you may want to first consider attempting to work out a payment plan with your creditors or trying to negotiate a settlement on your debts.