A common question is whether you will be able to get after bankruptcy credit. A bankruptcy attorney can help you formulate a plan for getting credit after bankruptcy and continuing to rebuilding your credit score after bankruptcy.
While it is inevitably true that a bankruptcy on your credit hurts your credit score, the sooner you declare bankruptcy and bring your debt to manageable levels the sooner you can put it behind you and move on. Although a bankruptcy can stay on your credit report for 10 years, the bankruptcy will affect your after bankruptcy credit less the further it was in the past. In addition, you can start improving your credit immediately after bankruptcy by using any credit extended to you and making your payments on time.
For most, student loans with survive the bankruptcy. Paying existing student loans on time will improve your credit score. In addition, you will probably qualify for a very low limit credit card whether secured or unsecured. Using this card each month and paying off the balance each month will improve your credit score. Despite popular belief that carrying a balance will increase your credit score faster, we do not recommend carrying a balance because it is not proven to do so. Even if carrying a balance is used in the credit score formula, the benefit is negligible and is offset by your debt to available credit ratio. And in any event is not worth the benefit compared to your interest expense.
Further we can not stress enough the importance of using your after bankruptcy credit responsibly. Use bankruptcy as an opportunity to get a fresh start and not make the same mistakes.
