There are lots of people who are reeling under the huge amounts of debt they have accrued over the years due to a plethora of reasons. Before you go about declaring yourself bankrupt, you should consider all your options so that you are able to take the best decision. For instance, you can get some money from friends or family to pay off a sizeable amount of the debt or consult the debtors to work towards a mutually acceptable agreement.

There is also the option of transferring your debts to another card which has got lower interest rates. But before doing this, you should know that you are not paying off any debts but simply transferring them. This won’t give you any long term relief as you will have to pay off the debts. It just gives you some leverage time to figure out the methods to get money. But there is also the option of getting some relief if the comprehensive debt reduction program works out in your favour.

If you find out that after studying all the options, filing bankruptcy is still the way to go, and then check out the various bankruptcy options before you file it. For instance, there is bankruptcy under chapter 7 and also chapter 13. While the former will absolve all your debts with your credit rating getting a serious hit, the latter affords you the option of paying off the debts in a period of 3 to 5 years. The next step is to get hold of a good lawyer who will be able to convince the authorities that you do not have any option other than declaring bankruptcy. Though the legal fees will be a bit steep since the new rules have made more work for the lawyers, it is worth it!