Why Do I Have To List All My Credit Cards?

“I went to this lawyer the other day and he told me that I can’t pick and choose who goes into my bk. Hey, what gives here? I gotta keep one of my Visas.”

Sorry, but you can’t. A petition in bankruptcy requires the complete disclosure of all financial information, which includes a complete listing of all your debts. What happens if you don’t? Your petition is signed under oath; you do not want to commit perjury by signing a false oath.

You might be able to keep one or more credit cards. First of all, you need to be able to afford to pay them. Secondly, the interest rate need to be sensible. How does one go about doing this? Wait a few weeks after your bankruptcy petition is filed. Contact the creditor. Find out if they will allow you to continue to charge on the credit card if you agree to pay them. If so, you still have a useable credit card. You probably have a better chance retaining a department store card. If the creditor says they will not, you have only wasted a little time on the telephone.

In general, retaining the use of a credit card is not the best idea since for many but not all clients, the credit cards caused the financial problems leading to bankruptcy.