About UsBankruptcy.net

Last reviewed on April 25, 2026.

Who this site is for

UsBankruptcy.net is a free, ad-supported reference site for people in the United States who are trying to understand their debt-relief options. Most readers find us when they are deciding whether bankruptcy is the right path, comparing Chapter 7 against Chapter 13, checking how their state's exemptions work, or preparing for a meeting with an attorney. We also serve a steady audience of paralegals, financial counselors, and family members who are helping someone else research the process.

The site is built to be useful at the point a reader is overwhelmed: behind on payments, facing collection, looking at a foreclosure notice, or staring at a stack of medical bills. That context shapes everything we publish — we keep the writing direct, we link liberally between related topics, and we try to answer the obvious next question before it has to be asked.

What we cover

The scope is U.S. consumer and small-business bankruptcy under the federal Bankruptcy Code. The main areas are:

• Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 — eligibility, the means test, timelines, exemptions, what happens to specific assets, and what life looks like after discharge.
• Chapter 11, Chapter 12, and Subchapter V — the business and farming chapters, written for owners who are weighing reorganization.
• State-by-state guidance — homestead and personal-property exemptions, median income figures, and the federal districts that hear cases in each state.
• Specific debts — medical bills, credit cards, student loans, tax debt, and how each is treated in bankruptcy.
• Alternatives — debt consolidation, debt settlement, debt management plans, and credit counseling, with honest comparisons of when each is a better fit than filing.
• Tools — free calculators for the means test, exemption analysis, Chapter 13 plan estimates, and a debt-assessment quiz. All run in your browser.

Editorial approach

Three principles shape the writing:

1. Accuracy over marketing. Bankruptcy is a regulated legal process. We describe the rules as they actually work — including the parts that are inconvenient or counterintuitive — rather than the version that sells consultations. When something depends on local court practice or a judge's discretion, we say so.
2. Plain language. Most readers are not lawyers. We define legal terms the first time they appear, prefer short sentences over long ones, and avoid Latin where an English word works. Where a term of art genuinely matters (automatic stay, redemption, reaffirmation), we keep it and explain it.
3. General information, not legal advice. Every page is written for a general audience. Individual cases turn on facts, timing, and local rules that a website cannot evaluate. Our consistent recommendation, when something material is at stake, is to consult a bankruptcy attorney licensed in your state.

How the content is produced

Content is researched primarily from public sources: the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, U.S. Trustee Program publications, IRS standards used in the means test, decisions from federal bankruptcy courts, and state statutes governing exemptions. When figures change — federal exemption amounts adjust every three years, state median incomes update annually, court fees are revised periodically — we revise the affected pages and update the "Last reviewed" date at the top of each.

Pages are reviewed against current source material before publication and re-checked on a rolling basis. We keep visible review dates so readers can judge how fresh each page is. If you spot an error or a figure that has gone stale, please contact us — corrections are taken seriously and processed quickly.

What we are not

UsBankruptcy.net is not a law firm. We do not represent clients, file petitions, draft documents for a specific case, or screen attorneys. Reading the site, using a calculator, or sending us an email does not create an attorney-client relationship. We do not collect retainer payments, charge consultation fees, or sell document-preparation services.

For legal advice on your individual situation, consult a bankruptcy attorney admitted in the state where you live. Our guide to finding a bankruptcy attorney lists the public directories — bar association referral programs, legal aid, U.S. Bankruptcy Court resources — that are the appropriate starting point.

How the site is funded

UsBankruptcy.net is supported by display advertising. Ads are clearly distinguishable from editorial content and do not influence what we cover or how we write about it. Recommendations on this site reflect editorial judgment, not advertiser priorities. See our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy for details on how advertising works on the site, including the cookies and identifiers that may be used.

Contact

Questions, corrections, or suggestions are welcome at [email protected], or through our contact page.