Harrisburg Divorce Legal Blog

Watching your marriage fall apart can not only devastate you emotionally, it can also significantly impact your finances. According to the Huffington Post, one of the most common reasons people file for bankruptcy is divorce. When you experience financial difficulties on top of the emotional strains of marriage, it can feel like everything is caving in on you.

However, you do not need to feel ashamed about considering bankruptcy. Although going bankrupt may sound completely negative, it can actually give you a necessary fresh start to your finances. Here are some reasons a divorce may lead you to bankruptcy: 

If you pay or receive child support in Pennsylvania, your child will experience many benefits, and you and your child’s other parent may, too, enjoy benefits that might include an improved relationship. Child support is money paid by one parent to the other for the purpose of providing for a child’s needs, with the money frequently going toward food, housing, health care costs and other necessities.

In addition to helping give your child the things he or she needs, collecting or receiving child support can:

• Give unwed fathers an opportunity to pursue child custody or visitation
• Give a child access to a father’s employee and Social Security benefits
• Give a child inheritance rights in the event of his or her father’s passing
• Improve a child’s odds of being successful in school
• Allow a child to have a better understanding of his or her family history
• Make a child less likely to become pregnant as a teen

The largest and most contentious part of divorce without children is the division of marital property. You and your spouse may be fighting over who gets what. However, one aspect to remember is that assets are not the only divided property in a divorce – debt is, too.

Understanding debt division in Pennsylvania may influence which assets you decide to keep and how you decide to handle joint debt.

The idea of bankruptcy might make you wince. Maybe you feel as though you should be able to overcome the mountain of debt that piled up due to various hardships in your life. While the hopes of overcoming debilitating debt through repayment is admirable, sometimes such hope is unrealistic and even damaging to the course of your life and the life of your family.

Matters as common as home repairs, medical bills, job loss and divorce can all result in significant financial hardships. There is no promise that life will be easy, but sometimes the troubles keep arising and put well-intended men and women in a crisis of insurmountable debt.

If you have found yourself in a similar situation, do not simply dismiss bankruptcy as an option. Legal options like Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy exist for a reason: to help people discover a fresh start and find secure financial footing once again. In order to get to that happier, more stable place, you need some information and the experienced support of a thoughtful bankruptcy lawyer.