Consumer bankruptcy mostly comes in two forms. Which one is right for you is genuinely a legal question and depends on your income, your property, and what you are trying to protect — but you should not walk into a consultation without knowing what the words mean.
Chapter 7 — the clean break
Often called liquidation. In practice, most consumer Chapter 7 cases are what the courts call “no asset” cases: everything the person owns is protected by exemptions, nothing is sold, and qualifying debts are wiped out.
It is fast — typically a few months from filing to discharge. There is an income test to qualify. You keep what your exemptions protect. You come out the other side owing nothing on the debts that were discharged.
Usually fits: credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, most old debt, when your income is modest and you do not have significant equity to protect.
Chapter 13 — the reorganisation
You keep everything and repay some portion of what you owe through a court-approved plan lasting several years. At the end, remaining qualifying balances are discharged.
It is slower and harder. It exists because it can do things Chapter 7 cannot — most importantly, it can stop a foreclosure and let you catch up missed mortgage payments over time.
Usually fits: when you are behind on a mortgage and want to keep the house, when your income is too high for Chapter 7, or when you have equity that exemptions will not cover.
What neither one clears
Some debts survive bankruptcy in most circumstances: recent taxes, child support and alimony, most student loans, court fines, and debts from fraud. Student loans in particular have a narrow and difficult path — do not assume, and do not let anyone tell you it is impossible either.
The honest bit
Anyone who tells you which chapter you need before looking at your income, your property, and your debts is guessing. This site cannot tell you either — we are not attorneys and it would be irresponsible to try.
What we can do is point you to people in your state who look at this every day, many of whom will tell you for free in a first meeting. Some of them will tell you not to file at all. Those are the ones worth talking to.