After Filing Bankruptcy

Indiscriminate overspending beyond limits will cause serious financial problems and if this is allowed to continue this will lead to filing of bankruptcy. Life continues even after filing bankruptcy but this causes considerable strain in the marriage. Bankruptcy might remove the old financial pressures; however this is not a solution for household financial problems. The aftereffects of filing the bankruptcy petition could be very serious and your marriage must be able to endure the consequences of such a decision. 

The statement that bankruptcy could create new problems might appear to you as incorrect. In case you or your spouse learns financial lessons after this debacle there may not be much of a problem; otherwise you will continue to suffer financially. Financial problems can occur either because of your indiscretion or due to unforeseen circumstances such as hospital bills or unemployment and bankruptcy might end this. In case you allow your household finances to get out of control bankruptcy becomes a necessity.

In any household the income and expenditure should balance including savings; if your expenses exceed income you will find that you are in serious trouble and life becomes miserable. You will be bombarded with collection calls and past due statements. Your car or house may be subject to auction or takeover.  The family is subjected to a lot of stress due to financial problems. You are always worried about the contents of your mailbox or how to make household payments.

Moving On With Life

Some couples turn a blind eye to their financial problems until it is too late; although they are aware of their financial status they do not discuss that openly until they are left with only of option of filing bankruptcy. It is worthwhile to talk to a credit counselor regarding the state of your financial affairs before you get into trouble. It is quite unfortunate that people wait until the damage is done or embarrassed to contact the credit counselor. In many cases, bankruptcy is the only option and this gives you an opportunity to commence your life again.

You normally file for bankruptcy after exploring all the avenues of solving your financial problems; this is a big decision to take in one’s life. One has to overcome the negative emotions of resentment, blame, loss and anger and move on in life. This may last as long as 10 years. Only plus point in this is that you are given an opportunity to turn over a new leaf in your life. Bankruptcy may or may not result in your losing your home or assets. In case you lose your home you and your family have to move into a rental house or apartment. You may have to find alternate mode of transportation if your car has been taken away.

You have to encounter such problems after filing for bankruptcy. Such an action causes a lot of strain on your married life and constant arguments and blame-laying will become the order of the day.  After bankruptcy you must ensure that old mistakes are not repeated and future financial security is taken care of by learning new skills; this depends on one’s attitude. Filing bankruptcy provides you a great opportunity to start a new life again and make amends for earlier mistakes.

New Approaches

Both of you should learn the lessons of bankruptcy and stop arguing over money. Otherwise your marital problems will not end. In case you continue to spend like the way you were spending prior to filing bankruptcy, this solution is only temporary.  Your financial problems will persist due to such irrational behavior. This may not be the case if filing of bankruptcy was done because of circumstances beyond your control.

Since both of you are involved in running the finances of your family it is essential that you take joint responsibility for household finances. Some factors to be considered are:

	Both should discuss and arrive at common objectives
	Agree on spending habits
	Joint decisions on the purchase of major items
	Plan an expenditure budget which matches your household income
	Check your income vs. expenditure status every month
	Establish discretionary spending funds
	Agree on how money will be maintained and accessed

You will find that hell will break lose if one spouse finds that a major check has been issued without his/ her knowledge.

Once you get a new lease of life by filing for bankruptcy it is essential that you do not repeat the mistakes made prior to filing for bankruptcy. To ensure this you and your spouse should list down the reasons for getting into this problem; this should be done before filing for bankruptcy. Based on this you should form ground rules for the future thereby avoiding such occurrences.

In case you have not analyzed the reasons for your financial mess and have not agreed the method of handling marital finances prior to filing bankruptcy, you might end up repeating the same mistakes again. If you lead a debt free life the peace of mind that you get is the most rewarding. Both of you put together should prepare a practical budget which should include the current expenses and savings required for the future.