Credit scores play a large part in the financial decisions that a South Carolina resident makes. Anytime one applies for a loan, the credit scores are checked. In fact, the majority of the time when one even applies for a new apartment or a new job, his or her credit score is checked. As a result, some individuals fear that a bankruptcy will have such a dramatic affect upon their credit score that they do nothing rather than take the necessary steps to get out of financial trouble.
The simple fact is that once the individual has reached the point where bankruptcy is a viable option, his or her credit score is already low. At this point, the individual is having trouble making payments and is probably delinquent in making payments. The credit score has already suffered as a result of these financial troubles.
Ignoring the problem will not make it go away. However, there are steps that the South Carolina resident can take to begin to repair the financial damage and have a fresh financial start. One option is through filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Under Chapter 13, a repayment plan is established that allows the individual to repay debt over a three to five-year period. At the end of this time period, remaining debt that is not excluded from the bankruptcy can be discharged.
While filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy will most likely have a negative effect upon the South Carolina resident’s credit score, it does open the door to repairing the problem and beginning the repair process. The individual can begin to rebuild the score by making affordable debt payments. An experienced attorney can help the individual determine if Chapter 13 is the appropriate choice.
Source: okcfox.com, “Consumer Watch: How a bankruptcy might not crash your credit score”, Mireya Garcia, May 14, 2018
