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

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.

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.

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.

Brush up on your bankruptcy vocab

The technical term for what happens when a court removes a debtor’s obligation to repay money owed is “discharge.” An “automatic stay” is what goes into place once a filing occurs to prevent a debtor from facing lawsuits, evictions, and other negative consequences until the process wraps up.

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.

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.

Take a bankruptcy self-filing quiz

If a debtor is considering filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it may be tempting to take a do-it-yourself approach to avoid attorney or preparer fees. However, experts caution that this could come back to bite filers. A quiz can help would-be filers explore whether their cases are complex enough to necessitate a lawyer.

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.

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

However, there are actually six types in practice today. These less-common options can be lifelines for foreign businesses operating in the US, local governments, and farms and fisheries.

How to get out of debt

This article provides a few helpful tips for getting out of debt, such as learning more about the debt itself and asking for better interest rates. It also explains the popular "debt snowball" and "debt avalanche" methods for getting out of debt. Curious to learn more? Read the full article here.

Tom Petty used bankruptcy to change the music industry

In order to resolve a dispute over how a label was treating him as an artist, he self-produced an album and racked up $500K in debt. The resulting bankruptcy filing allowed him to start a new contract with the label on more favorable terms.

More than 3 million student loan borrowers were in default at the end of 2021

More than 3 million student loan borrowers were in default at the end of 2021. While default rates have declined since pandemic-era payment pauses, failing to pay off student debt can still have serious consequences, from a low credit score to the government withholding wages.

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

If the US government paid off its debt, it could disrupt the entire bond market

Treasury bonds are some of the most common bonds for investors, and the majority of the national debt is in bonds.

Six bills experts say you shouldn't put on autopay

Autopay has plenty of benefits, such as helping to avoid late fees and streamlining your bill paying process. But some experts say there are a few types of bills that you shouldn't autopay, especially if you're not confident you can pay these bills in full each term. The list includes utility bills and annual subscriptions. Read the full list here.

Credit limits can be lowered as well as increased

Some common reasons for someone's credit limit being lowered include missed payments, an inactive account, and more.

Play the role of a student as you try to navigate college and remain debt-free

Probate is a legal process that determines if someone’s will is valid

The executor of the will in question not only collects estate assets, but also pays outstanding taxes and more. Grantors sometimes opt for a revocable trust instead of a will so their assets avoid probate in the event of their death.

How to owe nothing on your federal tax return

Do you know you can avoid owing the IRS money come tax season by making changes to your W-4? For context, a W-4 is the form you fill out when you first start a new job. It tells your new company how much money to withhold from each paycheck for taxes. Find out how to avoid writing a check to the IRS each April in this article.

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.

Nearly half of millennials and Gen Z use BNPL, versus 21% of older generations

While applicants typically need a good credit score and credit history to qualify for many credit cards, that's not the case with buy now, pay later loans, making them more accessible forms of payment for younger generations.

How art-backed loans work

Using your art collections—some of which are valued in the millions—to secure a loan is becoming more common among collectors. Here's a breakdown on how banks and private lenders are making best of the opportunity in liquidity.

The IRS answers basic questions about 529 savings plans

The plans can be used to pay for any qualifying education expenses from kindergarten to college, including tuition, fees, room and board, and even computers. Anyone can set up as many 529 plans as they want for relatives, friends, or themselves.

Why financial literacy education in the US sucks

If you don't remember learning anything about basic financial literacy in school, you're not alone—that's the common sentiment among those who have passed through the American school system. This video explains the history of financial education in the US and points out what can be done in the future to make the financial lessons children learn in school stick with them past recess. Watch it here.

When Dickens was 12, his father was imprisoned for debt

John Dickens was imprisoned at Marshalsea Debtors' Prison in London for failing to pay his debts. The experience forced the young Charles to leave school to help provide for his family. It also eventually informed his fiction, which often called for social reform, including the abolition of debtors' prisons.

The vast majority of federal criminal cases never reach a jury

In fiscal year 2022, nearly 90% of federal defendants pleaded guilty, and another 8% had their cases dismissed. This means just 2% went to trial at all, making a trial by jury a rare outcome in the modern federal court system.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

Certain government assistance programs are available to green-card holders

Federal programs such as Medicaid and SNAP are often available to US green-card holders, but that's not typically the case for people with other immigration statuses in the US, like DACA recipients, asylum applicants, and unauthorized immigrants.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

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

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

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.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

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

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Shooting stars, or meteors, are fragments of asteroids and comets that burn up as they enter Earth's atmosphere, creating streaks in the sky called meteor showers.

Scientists have struggled to pin down Ebola's natural reservoir species for decades, but the available evidence suggests that it's very likely fruit and insect-eating bats found in Africa.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

Corals are themselves not coral reefs—the term refers to the tiny marine invertebrates that build the rigid reef.