As a Pasadena Bankruptcy Attorney, I often have clients who think they can pick and choose the Debts they want to disclose. I often tell them, Bankruptcy is an "all or nothing" proposition. You must list all of your debts and all of your assets, especially if they are listed in public records such as tax records, credit reports, and title searches.
This is just one of the common mistakes that people can make when attempting to do a Bankruptcy on their own. However, just because you have to list all your Debts and Creditors doesn't mean you have to discharge all of them. There is an option known as Affirming your Debt, which means that you can still plan on paying that debt. This usually occurs when your debt is personal - to a friend or family member, for example.
Another concern that often comes up is that people fear not having any credit cards at all after they have declared Bankruptcy. As a Bankruptcy Attorney, here's my advice: Take one credit card that you have your smallest balance on and pay that one down to $0.00. You only have to list the Creditor if you have a Balance Owed. In this way, you can still keep one of your Credit Cards when you declare Bankruptcy.
By the way, don't worry too much about it. Within months after your Bankruptcy is discharged the Credit Card offers will start arriving in the mail once again. After all, you are a safe bet for at least eight years.
