question about bankruptcy and background

[ricardm21]

ok here's my story i am 24 year old male i had build a lot of debt when i turned 18 and had just started to pay it off when my appendix burst and was out of work for a month and fell way behind plus the hospital bills so i filled bankruptcy i am in a private academy and will be p.o.s.t. certified and will also have a a.a.s. in criminal justice no crimes at all never been in handcuffs and driving record is perfect so do you people think i will have a chance or did i just waste $5000 thanks for your input

[retdetsgt]

Off the top of my head, I know my dept would DQ you for a bankruptcy. In fact, a friend of mine who was with another dept tried to lateral on to mine and was turned down because he had filed for bankruptcy after a messy divorce.

Good luck though, maybe some dept might take the circumstances into consideration.

[seeking]

How long ago did you file it? It's pretty standard for agencies to check your credit in your application, and bankruptcy does not bode well on it, as it gives the worst rating you can have. Obviously you had circumstances that lead to that and my hope is they would at least give you a chance to explain the situation. Fortunately, like anything else, time heals. As long as you're rebuilding your credit, paying things on time, etc. you'll eventually get your credit score back. It's supposed to take at least seven years, but my cousin actually had a pretty decent score after three (but she did not include everything in her bankruptcy and had kept things like her car and a couple credit cards to keep building the credit). Good luck to you in any case.

Oh, and my two cents, education of any kind is never a waste.

[SnapShawt]

When it comes to credit, a lot of agencies are becoming more forgiving. Not all, but many. The totality of the circumstances DO matter, and what you're doing about it as well.

If you are in debt because, say, you had some large medical bills that got things backed up so you ended up with collections on your credit from them and others while trying to balance things out, that will be looked at one way. If you dug yourself into a whole by over-spending and trying to live above your means, that will be looked at entirely differently.

Bad credit, and even bankruptcy with more and more agencies lately, isn't the all-out killer that it used to be. It does matter though, and no matter WHY you're in the situation, you can definitely forget it if you can't show a plan of action and progress.

[Norm357]

I think the reason for the bankruptcyshould be examined before a dept DQs someone.

When my Mother in Law suffered a series of strokes, I inherited 350K worth of her medical bills. After busting my *** for two years trying to pay this off, I finally had to file bankruptcy to protect what I had. Does this make me a bad person unworthy to be an Officer?

[Lawson]

Does this make me a bad person unworthy to be an Officer?

Yes. :p

[mcsap]

The issue of bankruptcy is looked at in 4 ways.

1. The fact that you did file.

2. What kind did you file ?

3. What caused you to file ?

4. What have you learned and done since then to not ( as best as possible) get yourself into that predicament again ?

A bankruptcy is not an asset to an applicant but answering the above question weeds out the fiscally irresponsible person who caused their own demise to the person who truly had some bad luck and contributed little to end up where they did.

[retdetsgt]

When my Mother in Law suffered a series of strokes, I inherited 350K worth of her medical bills.

How did you inherit another adult's bills? Georgia must have some strange probate laws or you voluntarily took them on.:confused:

When my Mother died in Texas, she and my Dad had left behind quite a few medical bills. I paid what I could from what was left of the estate and then told the creditors that was it. They wrote them off, you can't sue a dead person.

[1depd]

Federal law prohibits "discrimination" based on the filing of bankruptcy. I had posted a link to the law on here several months or a year ago. Basically what the law states is an employer can not take negative employment action on you or your application file based solely on you filing for bankruptcy. It is covered in Title 11 sec. 525. For the agencies that do, this is one law the government did not excuse themselves from and the agencies are putting themselves at risk of a lawsuit, especially if the fact is written.

With that said, I would probably make sure I had the receipts (or bills) for you medical issue. It would provide further proof that you filed because you were overwhelmed from medical bills. You can be disqualified for your financial actions leading up to the bankruptcy and financial actions since filing. As other have said you must be able to demonstrate you have learned your lesson. So don't let your appendix rupture again. Since it's not there anymore I'm sure you won't let it happen.

[Group9]

Federal law prohibits "discrimination" based on the filing of bankruptcy. I had posted a link to the law on here several months or a year ago. Basically what the law states is an employer can not take negative employment action on you or your application file based solely on you filing for bankruptcy. It is covered in Title 11 sec. 525. For the agencies that do, this is one law the government did not excuse themselves from and the agencies are putting themselves at risk of a lawsuit, especially if the fact is written.

With that said, I would probably make sure I had the receipts (or bills) for you medical issue. It would provide further proof that you filed because you were overwhelmed from medical bills. You can be disqualified for your financial actions leading up to the bankruptcy and financial actions since filing. As other have said you must be able to demonstrate you have learned your lesson. So don't let your appendix rupture again. Since it's not there anymore I'm sure you won't let it happen.

That' pretty much the way they are handled in an SSBI background investigation. Unpaid bills are looked at more unfavorably than a bankruptcy.

But, bankruptcies rarely happen in a vacuum, and it is the circumstances surrounding your bankruptcy that will be examined in detail.

[1depd]

That' pretty much the way they are handled in an SSBI background investigation. Unpaid bills are looked at more unfavorably than a bankruptcy.

But, bankruptcies rarely happen in a vacuum, and it is the circumstances surrounding your bankruptcy that will be examined in detail.

Yup, I've had two SSBI's positively completed within 4 years of filing. One while the bankruptcy was still open and one after it had closed.