How and Why Your Case is Public When You File for Bankruptcy in Luverne, MN

If you are struggling to make ends meet, filing for bankruptcy might be an effective way to find relief from crippling debt and get a fresh start. Individuals and businesses from a wide range of financial backgrounds can find the bankruptcy chapter that suits their situations and benefit from the process of filing. Behm Law Group, Ltd. offers legal counsel and expert advice and assistance for Chapters 7, 12, and 13 bankruptcy in Luverne, MN.

 

With the help of a Behm bankruptcy attorney, you can build a successful bankruptcy petition that will offer optimal results in a liquidation or reorganization bankruptcy. While a bankruptcy is often a financial success story for most individuals and businesses, it’s important to remember that filing for bankruptcy will affect your credit score and that your bankruptcy filing will become a matter of public record.

 

Bankruptcy case information, along with virtually all other district and appellate court proceedings, is available to the public eye. Cases and most case information are offered through the government-operated system of Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER). These electronic records will contain details about your bankruptcy case including dates, documents, parties involved, and more. (This excludes personal information such as social security numbers, dates of birth, and financial account numbers.)

 

While it may be unsettling to individuals and businesses that bankruptcy case information is public, they can take solace in the fact that there are several roadblocks for someone attempting to access that information. For example, the PACER system requires a registration account with extensive information about the registrant, payment by page for case documents, and several other requests along the way for information about the registrant’s reason for accessing a case.

 

Because of these requirements to use the PACER system, most of the users are attorneys, bankruptcy professionals, creditors, and some large businesses. In short, you won’t have to worry about your family, friends, colleagues, or employers accessing information about your bankruptcy case. Most individual cases of bankruptcy fly far under the radar and are, generally, no longer visible on credit reports 5 to 6 years after a case is filed.

 

The ability to maintain control over your finances through a Chapter 13 repayment plan, or the fresh start a successful Chapter 7 case provides will greatly outweigh the fact that your bankruptcy case information is a matter of public record. Even the effect a bankruptcy has on your credit report should not dissuade you from filing if bankruptcy is a viable path to take.

 

To find out if filing for bankruptcy in Luverne, MN, is the right choice to remedy your financial situation or to learn more about the benefits of each bankruptcy type, contact Behm Law Group, Ltd. at (507) 387-7200 today.