Repairing and Restoring Credit after Bankruptcy Chapter 7
Repairing credit can be the most difficult item to repair for a debtor after the Bankruptcy Chapter 7  process. When a debtor files for Bankruptcy Chapter 7 their credit score and credit history takes a huge hit. Having Chapter 7 bankruptcy mentioned on a credit report lowers a person’s credit score. This means that they have a poor credit history record and is certainly unimpressive to creditors and other loan agents. A person with a poor credit history or a damaged one will have problem obtaining a new loan or a mortgage from a lending agency for a couple of years after filing for bankruptcy. It might take anywhere from six months to two years for a debtor to restore his or her credit history to the point of being acceptable for loans and mortgages.

Avoid Poor Financial Decisions
An important tip for restoring and repair credit after a bankruptcy is to address the issue that caused the debtor to have credit troubles in the first place. If the debtor eliminates this item from everyday life and financial problems should occur infrequently. This means that bills should be paid on time due to the creditor companies. Don’t wait to pay off the debt or the credit card bill so that the interest rates will kick in and the debtor will acquire more debt that they will have to pay off over a prolong period of time. Also, change your spending habits as much as possible to avoid financial problems. Spending habits such as compulsive buying, purchasing items that are unaffordable, and spending money on unnecessary items while in debt are itself big financial problems.

How Long will Bankruptcy be on My Credit Record?
Bankruptcy can be eliminated from a person’s records or credit reports ten years from the date of discharge of the debtor’s debts. The discharge of debt is defined as the removal of debt from a person’s records or from their responsibility. Filing for Bankruptcy Chapter 7 cannot be removed from a person’s financial records prior to ten years from the date of the discharge of the debt under any circumstances.

Step One to Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy : Determine Eligibility
The first step in filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is determining the eligibility of individuals and companies. Any individual, partnership, corporation or sole proprietorship is eligible to file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in the United States. Any debtor that has filed for another form of Bankruptcy within the previous 180 days of filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and failed to show up in court or voluntarily declined to show up in court cannot file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. In addition, any debtor that did not seek proper counseling from an approved credit counseling company 180 days prior to filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is not allowed to file for a Bankruptcy petition. In emergencies, there are exceptions that can allow debtors that fall into the above categories to file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy as determined by the United States trustee.

Step Two to Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: Consult with a Bankruptcy Lawyer
The second, and probably the most important step of all, is to consult a Bankruptcy lawyer prior to filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Discussing an individual or company’s financial records should be done in the presence of a Bankruptcy lawyer who has years of experience in the legal field so that he or she will be able to handle any type of case that comes across their desk. The most experienced Bankruptcy lawyer will suggest alternatives to Bankruptcy, and not just pressure their client into filing for Bankruptcy as soon as possible. A chapter 7 Bankruptcy lawyer will also make what is an overwhelming and stressful process easier to deal with when filing paperwork and appearing in court for Bankruptcy hearings.

Step Three to Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: File the Petition
When filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, the debtor must sit down with his or her lawyer and collect all of the required paperwork needed to make the process official. The debtor must provide the following information in their paperwork regarding their financial records:

•A list of all creditors and the amount and nature of their claims
•The source, amount, and frequency of the debtor's income
•A list of all of the debtor's property
•A detailed list of the debtor's monthly living expenses, i.e., food, clothing, shelter, utilities, taxes, transportation, medicine, etc

Other paperwork that must be collected and filed with the government is a certificate that shows a debtor successfully completed a credit-counseling workshop within the previous 180 days, the most recent federal tax return of the debtor, and also the wage stubs of the debtor for the previous 60 days if the filer was working. When working closely with a Bankruptcy lawyer, the debtor will be guided by the Bankruptcy lawyer on how to file all of their Bankruptcy paperwork. The paperwork must be filed with the courts along with a couple of Bankruptcy fees. The first fee is $245 case filing fee, a $39 miscellaneous administrative fee, and a $15 trustee fee that must be paid to the trustee assigned to the case from the United States government. Upon the completion filing of Bankruptcy, the debtor must pay these fees immediately to the clerk of the court where the case is being filed.