True or False: If I File Bankruptcy Everyone Will Find Out

Personal finances tend to be an issue most people keep to themselves, particularly debt problems. Many people worry about their privacy if they file bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy attorney Elizabeth Domenico gets real about your privacy and a bankruptcy filing in this interesting video.

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One question a lot of potential clients ask me, especially when looking at bankruptcy, is if they file bankruptcy, will everyone that they owe money to and all their friends, relatives, and neighbors be able to find out that they filed bankruptcy?

Quick History: Bankruptcy & Privacy

It is true in the past as a means to publish what was going on in the court system there were newspapers that would put bankruptcy filings of individuals in their publications.

That would allow people to look and find out you had filed bankruptcy.

Electronic Records & Your Privacy

In the more recent years, everything is done electronically online through the court system.

Unless you owe a family member or friend money directly, or your employer or you’re potentially being garnished and we have to notify the creditor to stop and your payroll, there is no reason that most people will be able to find out you filed bankruptcy.

Everything is a matter of public record. However, someone would actively have to be searching for you to be able to find that out.

Bankruptcy Can Protect Your Privacy

Also, too, filing a bankruptcy can actually stop the embarrassment of people finding out financial situations, especially if you’re in danger of a mortgage foreclosure or a car repossession, as it will keep those creditors from being able to put foreclosure notice signs in your yard and send the repo man out for your car.

A Private Event

So, filing a bankruptcy does not have to be a matter of public record. It can be a very private matter, as long as you’re not already owing a family member or a friend.

So, the fact of the matter is, unless you really want people to know, in most instances, you’re gonna be safe and have your privacy protected from everyone knowing your financial status.