What Information Becomes Public?

[MichaelMyer]

I'm considering filing Chapter 7. How much of my personal information will be made public, like checking account data, social security number, how much we owe? I really hate the idea that all of my information will be visible online to anyone who wants to read it. 🙄

[Jnbmom]

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@MichaelMyer wrote:

I'm considering filing Chapter 7. How much of my personal information will be made public, like checking account data, social security number, how much we owe? I really hate the idea that all of my information will be visible online to anyone who wants to read it. 🙄

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Unfortunately it is a public record anyone that has a pacer account or opens one up can see a good bit about f your bankruptcy information.

what the public can't see. Your social security number for obviously reasons . Your full date of birth , your full account numbers .

[DogwoodLynx]

Honestly its not likely that anyone would go searching outside of a background investigation (security sensitive positions that require a personal history packet). 

Most of the time when a background CHECK is performed they see that you have a BK filing but even they wont go digging (regular employment/housing/etc).

I wouldnt worry about it.

[FireMedic1]

Everything that has to do with a BK is on PACER. Its a federal court system. So your local court doesnt show the BK itself.

[sccredit]

I have googled my own name multiple times, including with variations of the phrase bankrupt/bankruptcy). It's visible that I filed. None of the details are visible though. My case is abnormal because there was part of it decided by an appeals cour. Unless people log into PACER they can't see any details of the case.

[sarge12]

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@MichaelMyer wrote:

I'm considering filing Chapter 7. How much of my personal information will be made public, like checking account data, social security number, how much we owe? I really hate the idea that all of my information will be visible online to anyone who wants to read it. 🙄

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It is very common to fear everyone and his brother knowing your personal information, but here are two facts. 1) Bankruptcy is a public record so anyone can find the records if they choose to. 2) In almost all cases, unless you are a politician, nobody will. I filed twice, and only the creditors, the court, and whoever I chose to tell ever knew, to the best of my knowledge. People you know are far too busy with their own issues to go to the trouble of finding that info. Almost everyone has that concern when filing, but unless you are a very high profile person, or someone really hates you, your fear is likely not well founded. Even theives do not usually search bankruptcy records for victims, as they know those filing have little to steal. Filing should never be done without careful consideration, but for many, it is truly a much needed second chance to have a normal life. A fresh start can be life changing if done correctly. Notice my scores in my signature, and they were higher before I paid off my house last year. It took two times for me to learn...ch.13 and later ch.7, but I did learn and life vastly improved.

[2b2rich]

For the most part, what every one here has said.  However, certain situations and the case can be made private where publicly people can only see like the names of the individuals and case number.  I don't know what the circumstances are, but my ex husband's BK is like that.  We don't talk or I would have already asked him how it came about.