There are many benefits of filing for bankruptcy, as well as a couple of well-noted drawbacks. Among them is the fact that a bankruptcy filing will remain on your credit report for a minimum of seven years.
A Chapter 7 bankruptcy remains on your credit report for 10 years, while a Chapter 13 bankruptcy stays put for seven years.
Fortunately, you don’t have to do anything to remove the filing after this time expires. Instead, it is automatically deleted after either seven or 10 years from the filing date.
What about other accounts?
In addition to the bankruptcy itself, individual accounts, such as discharged credit card debt, will also show on your credit report.
Any individual account included in a bankruptcy filing will remain on your credit report for up to seven years. Once again, these accounts are deleted after seven years from the filing date.
Is it a big deal?
It goes without saying that a bankruptcy filing will drag down your credit score; however, here’s something to remember: If your score is already low to begin with, the impact won’t be nearly as big.
Also, as time goes by, you can take a variety of steps to improve your credit score.
While there is no way to remove a bankruptcy filing from your credit report, it’s nice to know that this will automatically happen in either seven or 10 years.
In the meantime, do whatever you can to improve your credit standing, such as using a secured credit card and paying all your bills on time and in full. Doing these things improves the likelihood of making a faster financial recovery.