If you've been plagued with some financial problems in recent times and just can't see a way out, you may be considering a declaration of bankruptcy. Yet you may be concerned with your ability to live your life normally if you do this. Many people in your situation worry about the chances of leasing a car, or getting any credit card solutions. What do you need to consider, before you proceed?

Why It's Not a Single Event

When you declare bankruptcy, it should be as a way to restructure your situation and start working to repair and improve your finances. It shouldn't be a single event, which will necessarily have a long-term and negative impact on your future. You should put a plan in place to make sure that you successfully discharge your bankruptcy, or that it is annulled, as soon as that is practical. This, by itself, will have a great bearing on your ability to get credit in the future.

The Initial Repercussions

Once your bankruptcy is discharged after three years, it will typically remain on a credit report for several more years. This is not something that you have any control of, as remember that a credit reporting body is simply reporting facts and that a potential lender is making any decision.

What You Need to Do

What you do need to be sure of is that you work to repair any damage that you may have created as soon as possible. This means that you should always pay any subsequent bills on time and consolidate any high rates of interest if you can, to make it easier.

It also means that you should check your credit reports on a regular basis, to ensure that there is no information contained that is incorrect. This does happen more often than you might realise, and you need to make every effort to get any discrepancies removed.

Getting the Certificate

When you declare bankruptcy, a trustee will be appointed and this individual can be very important in helping you to recover in the future, as well. Ask them for a "certificate of discharge" at the appropriate time, which will be a useful piece of paper for you in talking to lenders.

You should expect to pay much higher rates of interest when dealing with lenders for some time after initially declaring bankruptcy. This is unfortunate, but it points once again to the need to improve your credit reference score as soon as possible.

Getting Help

If you find that there are errors with your credit report and the body in question is slow to fix them, or if you have any questions related to a potential declaration of bankruptcy, it pays to have a word with experienced attorneys as soon as possible.