The most common types of bankruptcy filings are Chapter 7, Chapter 11, and Chapter 13

Bankruptcy is a legal way to manage overwhelming debt, whether for individuals, corporations, or even local governments

Chapter 7 is for liquidating personal assets to clear debts, Chapter 13 allows a repayment plan for individuals, and Chapter 11 lets businesses reorganize to stay afloat.

What is Chapter 11 bankruptcy?

While there are multiple types of bankruptcies, Chapter 11 is probably the one you've heard about the most. Technically speaking, Chapter 11 bankruptcy involves a reorganization of a business's assets and debts under court supervision. Companies such as Red Lobster, WeWork, and Party City have all filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in recent years. Learn more about it here.

Some people make too much money to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Chapter 7 is the most popular type of filing for individuals needing relief. However, to be eligible, debtors must pass an income means test. At the most basic level, they must prove that their average monthly income over six months is below their state’s median. But there are exceptions.

Every year, nearly 500,000 bankruptcies are filed in the US

From personal hardships to major corporate collapses like Enron and Bed Bath & Beyond, filing for bankruptcy isn't a quick fix or a “get-out-of-jail-free” card—it’s a complex, structured process offering debt relief or repayment options.

Congress has the power to enact laws related to bankruptcy, thanks to the US Constitution

It has done just that since 1800. This legislation, which outlines the various types of bankruptcy filings, has evolved over time. The most recent iteration is the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, which introduced Chapter 11 filings in an effort to make the process easier for businesses and individuals.

Filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy can be complex

Debtors must know whether their liabilities are secured or unsecured and what type of assets they have. They also need to know what a filing can and can’t help them with.

For some debtors without assets that can be sold or returned, filing for bankruptcy can provide a path toward a clean slate

However, the bankruptcy process does not apply to several types of common debt, including money owed toward child support or alimony payments. Most debtors also do not qualify for relief from student loan payments.

Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 filings can impact common stockholders

Publicly traded companies don’t file for bankruptcy out of nowhere—there are typically warning signs in a stock’s performance, quarterly earnings calls, and US Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Calculate: Do you need to file for bankruptcy?

About 77% of American households had some debt at the end of 2023. However, when debt becomes crushing, it's time to consider a management plan or a bankruptcy filing. This calculator helps explore whether debt is manageable based on inputs like medical debt, payday loans, and gross annual income.

Credit scores seriously suffer when individuals file for bankruptcy, and there’s no easy fix

Those who file for Chapter 7 must wait 10 years before the bankruptcy is removed from their credit report. For Chapter 13, the wait time is seven years.

Investors can buy three main types of bonds: government, corporate, and municipal

Each type has variations of its bond offerings with different interest rates, loan lengths, maturity dates, and terms. Each type also carries its own risks and rewards.

There’s an artificial intelligence model trained on bankruptcy law

Although it's designed for lawyers, the tool is able to help everyday browsers synthesize important cases and point users to relevant documents about them. One sample using it asks Chatlaw to explain the significance of a recent case and then to define relevant terminology.

American local government comes in five distinct forms

Counties, municipalities, townships, special districts, and school districts are each created for a different purpose, operating under different rules, and answerable to the state in different ways. Special districts, the least known of the group, are created for specific purposes, such as transit or fire protection.

Explore a visual of 16 different types of trusts

While all trusts fit into one of two categories (revocable or irrevocable), many other types of trusts exist for more specific circumstances. Think: pet trusts and special needs trusts.

What's your tax filing status? Find out with this video

There are five different filing statuses taxpayers fall under when they file income taxes: single, married and filing jointly, married and filing separately, head of household, and surviving spouse. Taxpayers' status is determined by whichever category they fit into on December 31st of the tax year they're filing for.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is by far the most popular in the US

The most common types of loans are conventional, jumbo, fixed-rate, adjustable, and government-backed.

Finance is among the most popular specializations for MBA students

MBA specializations allow students to concentrate on a specific field during their studies. Other popular concentrations include marketing, entrepreneurship, and consulting. Learn more about MBA specializations in this article.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

Multiple legal pathways exist for immigrating to the United States

This comprehensive guide outlines various routes to US immigration, including family-sponsored and employment-based visas, as well as humanitarian protections. Navigate the complex American immigration system and understand the options available to prospective immigrants seeking legal entry.

There are five main types of FIRE

Many different types of FIRE exist, and their methodologies and end goals vary drastically. “Lean FIRE” followers, for instance, are minimalists who plan to live modestly in retirement. “Barista FIRE” proponents plan to work part-time in retirement.

Breaking down the main classes of intellectual property: trademark vs. copyright vs. patent

Trademarks, copyrights, and patents are all intellectual property classifications that give exclusive ownership of ideas and concepts to individuals or businesses. Patents usually refer to innovative products or processes, copyrights are centered around the right to reproduce content, and trademarks usually involve branding elements, like names, logos, and distinct product elements.

Bipolar disorder, which is characterized by extreme mood swings, affects nearly 3% of the US population

There are two types of this disorder. Bipolar 1 features a significant manic episode—abnormally elevated mood and frantic energy—followed by repeated depression, while Bipolar 2 vacillates between depressive episodes and hypomania, a milder form of mania, but not a full mania. Listen to this podcast as experts explain the condition.

The United States currently ranks number one for countries that enable the most financial secrecy

Financial secrecy refers to complex systems that make it easy for people and companies to hide assets. High levels of financial secrecy are associated with illegal activity, like drug trafficking and money laundering. Lax regulations around reporting who owns trusts, real estate, and businesses impact the United States' global financial secrecy ranking.

The shadow banking system is a group of intermediaries that operate outside of normal banking regulations

The nonbank financial intermediaries that make up the shadow banking system legally provide services that are similar to those of traditional commercial banks. Although the term isn't used as often as it once was, private credit firms are technically part of the shadow banking system, as are hedge funds, payday lenders, buy now, pay later companies, and more.

There are more than a dozen burrito types in the US

Different regions have different aspects, including Mission-style in San Francisco (and nationwide via Chipotle), the chile Colorado burrito, New Mexico’s breakfast burrito, and fusions like the Korean burrito.

The most common type of 3D printer fabricates objects using plastic

At the consumer level, the most common printing method is fused deposition modeling, which builds objects by melting an extruding thermoplastic filament that is deposited in layers. For industrial applications, selective laser sintering, which uses a laser to fuse particles of polymer powder (e.g., nylon), is preferred.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

US consumers collectively owe more than $1T to credit card companies—almost as much as they owe in auto loans.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

Meet the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence—most of whom didn't put pen to paper until August 2, 1776—and see their original signatures.

Animal phobias are likely the most common type of phobias, followed by an extreme fear of heights.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, and became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Power lines are dotted with large, brightly colored balls to improve the visibility of these thin wires to helicopters and small planes and help prevent potential crashes.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.

Watch contemporary footage covering the US-backed Shah of Iran fleeing the country in the face of the 1979 Iranian Revolution

Dirty lightning is a thunderstorm created from friction between rising and falling flows of ash and smoke during volcanic eruptions.