One solution may be to file for bankruptcy. In America, the leading cause for filing bankruptcy is medical expenses. If you have outstanding medical bills that you are trying to pay but can’t keep up with, bankruptcy may be the right answer.

The United States requires you to take a credit counseling program prior to filing. You will sit down with someone who will see if there is any way to help improve your management of funds and reduce payments to your bills. This is not a consolidation service, whereby your bills all become one payment. This is a service that determines whether you qualify for bankruptcy. If the credit counselor cannot see a way to repay your debts, that is a very good indication, that bankruptcy may be the right solution for you.

Qualified bankruptcy attorneys will take a look at your finances and all of your outstanding debts. They will require you to go a period of six months without using your credit cards, which may further hurt your financial situation. They will also require a filing fee and a payment for handling your case. The attorney will look at all your outstanding, unsecured and service debts, working to reduce them, settled them or dismiss them. This is a period of time that can take a year or longer to resolve. During this time, you will still be trying to make payments on the bills that your lawyer says you need to, such as your mortgage.

When you come out of bankruptcy, you will have a settlement account in which you have to pay until it is satisfied. You will be unable to file bankruptcy again for a period of time, as well as your credit score being hurt for 10 years.