Personal Bankruptcy (part 10)

Stress and support along with the effects bankruptcies have on marriages

In this, the last section of our 10 part article on bankruptcy, we will cover a little more on the topic of stress that is involved and the effects it could have on your marriage. The article will end with us stating the reasons why you need to work hard at not being bankrupt.

Stress and support

Sometimes the stress that builds up on you from your financial trouble scan become just about all you can possibly take. After all, bankruptcies do not pop up over night. They take time to happen and the stress that goes along also builds slowly but surely. The work involved in filing a bankruptcy is time consuming and very tiresome. Maybe getting all the correct paperwork in line for your petition provides a distraction from your thoughts, which used to be consumed with thinking about your financial troubles instead of financial solutions. Maybe the paperwork only makes you more stressed out.

Whatever the case, not everyone takes financial stresses the same way. Everyone takes bankruptcy and debt problems differently. Some people find help to try and focus on the positive aspects of their situations. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, some people just get to that light in different ways. Some never get to it. But you have to try and make it happen. Try talking with a professional mental health counselor who deals with financial issues. You have to be able to understand that you are human and you also have to own up to your responsibilities as well. As long as you recognize this, you will have a much easier time of it.

The effects a bankruptcy can have on a marriage

If you are married and you are filing with your spouse for the bankruptcy, you have to understand that this will indeed be a stressful time in your life. It is a simple fact that bankruptcies cause marital strife and can be forever damaging if not handled by both parties correctly. You are a team and together you must prevail. Never point blame. If one person is at more faults for the bankruptcy, if you want to keep your marriage intact, it will take a lot of work. In order for your marriage to succeed through a bankruptcy, you have to give each other those moments of stress and insecurity. Many times, one spouse can be strong while the other has a temporary emotional crisis, and then it is the other way around. The idea of a true marriage is to work together through the toughest of times and enjoy the best of times as well.

There will be case when neither of you can make it. If the bankruptcy is because of the decision to divorce, supporting each other will not work. But if a couple is filing for a bankruptcy but planning on staying together, now is the exact time to consider seeking a marriage counselor. This person will be able to assist you and give you proper advice as what to do in each of your situations. This person will be a non-judgmental mediator who will be able to point out things that you and your spouse may not realize happening or right in front of you.

Now, if divorce is eminent, this is something your lawyer needs to know about. There are procedural advantages and disadvantages to the timing of a divorce filing compared to a bankruptcy filing, and whether or not you should file jointly or individually, especially if there is a home foreclosure at stake.

Avoiding bankruptcy

If you have been reading this 10 part article on bankruptcy, you already know that bankruptcy is obviously a financial tool available to every single US citizen and should not be taken lightly. Many times, it is best or even the only way out you have from a devastating financial situation. Better than filing bankruptcy, is to learn to control your spending and to think carefully through all purchases, even seemingly basic purchases.

You have to be able to prepare yourself for potential disaster by thinking ahead of the game – thinking about what would happen if this happened to you before it actually happens. Do not make yourself insurance poor, but also consider what impact a long term illness or loss of job could do to your financial future ahead of time. How would you be able to pay your debts if you could no longer work due to an uninsured or covered illness? Put some money away fro these possible tragedies before they happen and you will not be faced with a total devastation of your finances. While it is understood that if you are reading this, you are probably not doing it for fun - most likely, you are reading this article because you are already considering bankruptcy. If not, heed the words you are reading and plan ahead. It is never a bad idea to save money for a rainy day or potential financial crisis. Try keeping your monthly obligations under control too. Just because you have an available balance on a credit card does not mean it is a good time to buy that wide screen TV.  

It is best to avoid filing bankruptcy, but as you have read in the sections of this article, sometimes it is the only way out. Be thankful you live in a country that has this resource – but also be glad that you do not live in a country that everyone is filing it either.

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