• Chapter 7 relief is available yet more difficult to achieve.Economic crisis image by Denis Ivatin from Fotolia.com
  
  Seeking Chapter 7 bankruptcy is not a decision you should enter without much thought. It could affect your credit for a while; bankruptcies of this nature usually stay on a consumer's record for 10 years. At least for a period after, this could affect your ability to purchase a car, lease an apartment, or secure a credit card, except at a high interest rate. A bevy of other reasons exists for carefully weighing a filing decision.
  
  

Property Losses

• If you file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, prepare to lose personal property. If you own a house or a car, a trustee can liquidate those items to pay your creditors. According to the Moneyinstructor website, unless you can prove that certain assets in your possession are necessary for your work, many of your assets are subject to liquidation.
  
  

Means Test

• Since President George W. Bush signed the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005, you must submit to a "means test." Unless your income is beneath the median income for your state, and you are unable to afford to pay 25 percent of your unsecured debt, you will not be eligible for relief under Chapter 7, according to CNN Money. The court must automatically convert your case to a Chapter 13. This means you will be responsible for coming up with a plan to repay your debts over a five-year period.
  
  

Counseling

• According to the CNN Money website, you must undergo counseling six months before filing for Chapter 7, as of October 17, 2005, when the Reform Act went into effect. This counseling must take place by a credit counselor approved by the United States government. The article also points out you must attend money-management counseling classes at your own expense prior to the discharge of your debts by a judge.
  
  

High Attorneys Fees

• Expect to pay more in attorney's fees, according to the Sagarialaw website. Bankruptcy attorneys are finding that they must charge more in fees to shield themselves from possible liability. The attorneys are liable to the federal government if their client's bankruptcy case is based on inaccurate information that client has given the attorney.
  
  

Homestead Exemptions

• Under the 2005 legislation, you can only exempt up to $125,000 from your homestead if you bought your house more than 40 months prior to filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy, according to the CNN Money website. This also holds true if a court has convicted you of security law violations, or of certain other illegal activities.
  
  Moreover, the website points out that filers must live in a given state for at least two years prior to filing; otherwise, you as a filer may only claim the exemption for the state in which you resided for the majority of the six months before your two-year period.