Bankruptcy is public record. As such, when someone files, their bankruptcy records can be found online. There are a number of reasons why you may want to search and find out if someone has filed for bankruptcy. Many of these reasons help to protect yourself and your finances against someone who may potentially have money problems or may not manage money well. Here are a few of the reasons why you may want to search someone out and view their bankruptcy records online.

You Are Preparing to Marry the Person

Before you marry someone, you may be interested in learning whether or not they filed bankruptcy and/or whether a bankruptcy they filed has been discharged. In some states, you obtain your partner's debt when you marry them. As such, you want to ensure a bankruptcy is fully discharged if you don't want to take on this debt. Additionally, this information can help you determine why your potential partner filed and how long ago it was. If it was a long time ago or was filed due to overwhelming medical bills, you may have little to worry about. However, if a person has filed three times for overspending, they may have trouble managing money.

You Are Looking to Go Into Business With a Person

Another reason you may want to find out if someone has filed for bankruptcy is because you are looking to go into business with a person. Before you sign a contract with a potential business partner, you want to ensure they can hold up their financial end of the agreement. If they have recently filed for bankruptcy, or have a history of repeated filings, you may be leery about their ability to help finance the business before a profit can be turned and their ability to manage company finances.

You Are Loaning Someone Money

If someone is looking to obtain a loan from you, it may be because they have poor credit and are unable to obtain a loan in a traditional manner. If the person has a history of repeated bankruptcy filings, you may want to be cautious about lending them money. Typically, personal lenders are the last one to recoup any money in a bankruptcy case, if there is even any money left. The reasons a person has filed bankruptcy, how many times they have filed, and how long ago can all help you determine whether you want to lend to them or not.

Bankruptcy records taken from somewhere like U.S. Records can tell you a lot of information. They may tell you how much debt the individual was in, who the creditors were, what amount of debt was allocated to each creditor, what time period the bankruptcy was for and possibly even the reason they filed, such as job loss or divorce. Paying attention to all of these factors will help you give you an overview of the person you are looking up.

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