The Automatic Stay

• Most Americans choosing bankruptcy request debt forgiveness under Chapter 7 or partial debt repayment in Chapter 13, according to the book "How to File for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy." Regardless of the type of bankruptcy filed, the filing enacts an "automatic stay." This bars all creditors from calling, writing or suing debtors who owe money.
  
  

About Garnishments

• If your wages are being garnisheed for a credit card or non-government debt, filing bankruptcy will halt those garnishments. As long as a judge accepts your bankruptcy case, those garnishments will not resume at a later date. If you owe court fines, defaulted student loans, recent taxes, child support or alimony, filing bankruptcy in some states may temporarily stop garnishments against you. But your bankruptcy case will not discharge such debts under any circumstances, and any halted garnishments will resume once a judge finalizes your bankruptcy request.
  
  

Past Lawsuit Considerations

• If you were sued in the past for consumer-oriented debts, your accepted bankruptcy case will render such judgments null and void, notes the book "How to File for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy." But bankruptcy cannot resolve past, current or future lawsuits related to your illegal activities. If you drove drunk and hurt or killed someone, you're fully responsible for any civil damages awarded to the injured party. The same rule applies if you committed an assault, theft or embezzlement.
  
  

Additional Bankruptcy Considerations

• While Chapter 7 will eliminate most of your debts, you may not economically qualify. You must earn less than your state's annual median income level or prove through a federally devised means testing formula that you cannot support your dependents while partially repaying creditors. As of 2011, the annual median income figure for a single person living in Maryland was $55,774, while the yearly level for a family of four in Wyoming was $76,361, according to the U.S. Trustee Program. Also, while bankruptcy voids many of your debts, it still harms your credit rating for seven years in Chapter 13 and 10 years in Chapter 7.