Under either chapter 7 bankruptcy or chapter 13 bankruptcy, you must list all of the people that you owe money to. This includes credit cards that you want to keep, friends that lent you money, family members that lent you money and anybody else that you owe. The one exception to this would be with regard to credit cards that have a zero balance. If you have a zero balance, then technically you do not owe any money; therefore, that creditor does not have to be listed. However, I want to cautious you that you are likely to receive a letter from that credit card company terminating your charging privileges going forward. So don’t plan on being able to keep any type of credit card after either a chapter 7 bankruptcy or a chapter 13 bankruptcy is filed.
Often times you have someone who just wants to keep a credit card because they’ve had it for 20 years, it was their first card, it has a very low balance, they like the convenience of that card, they like the store, they have an affinity for it. Whatever the reason might be, if there is a debt owed, that creditor must be listed. Even if there’s not a debt owed, you are likely going to lose that debt; don’t plan on keeping the credit card.
After your bankruptcy case is filed, you can apply for new credit. You can apply for a secured credit card where you put a certain amount of money in a bank account and you have charging privileges up to that amount. That will report positively to the credit bureaus and it could eventually turn into an unsecured credit card.
So, you must list all the people that you owe money to. You must list all people that you owe including family members, friends, that’s that have low balances and any other type of debt that you have. If you have a zero balance on a credit card, then you do not need to list it because it is not a debt; however, don’t plan on being able to keep that card going forward. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy basically mean a fresh start in terms of credit.
