Bankruptcy is one of those programs that people consider when their backs are up against the wall financially. It’s usually a gut wrenching situation whereby the mortgage is months behind, car payments are falling behind, gas, electric - all these bills are probably late as well. But hopefully, food is on the table.

It’s during these stressful, emotional times that all of a sudden the TV commercials run by bankruptcy lawyers start resonating with a person. “Get out of debt today!”, “Improve your credit score!”, “Get rid of all of those bills!”, etc. Unfortunately, not is all it seems to be at first with bankruptcy.

In fact, rather than considering bankruptcy, one should in fact be considering ways to avoid bankruptcy. The reasons are as follows: bankruptcy has many troubling aspects to it. It stirs a virtual hornets nest of issues, and causes much, much collateral damage in the process, leaving a trail of financial destruction and ruin in its wake.

So what is the deal with bankruptcy? Well, for starters - it is by no means a simple walk in the park, as the bankruptcy lawyers would lead you to believe. In fact, one could argue that it is fact a rather dangerous walk in the park, say like a walk through Central Park alone at 2am, with shiny gold chains dangling around your neck. It is a minefield, and full of pitfalls.

The person who files for bankruptcy is basically destroying their credit record. It’s an implosion, basically. There will be no chance to obtain credit from anyone during this time period because creditors will view the person’s credit report as toxic. They wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot cattle prod. And how long does a bankruptcy filing stay on the public record? Up to 10 years in many states. Imagine that.

The person who files for bankruptcy can also expect to pay hefty deposits when they order new utility service in the future - gas, electric, water, cable, phone, etc. And quite possibly they could find themselves passed over for a job, as more and more employers these days are performing credit checks as part of their routine job applicant screening process.

Therefore, it’s wiser to consider bankruptcy alternatives rather than bankruptcy itself when faced with mounting financial difficulties.