 TITLE: How to Recover From Bankruptcy CONTENT: Check Your Credit Scores\n------------------------\nIf you haven't done so already, sign up for a service, such as the one from Experian, that lets you check your credit scores for free. Your scores may not paint a pretty picture, but depending on how recently you filed your bankruptcy plan, they may not yet be at their lowest point: Your scores will decline significantly when you file bankruptcy, and if you file Chapter 7, they may dip further once the court has discharged your case—a process that can take several months (and which may not be reflected in your credit file for several weeks after that). A Chapter 13 bankruptcy isn't considered discharged until the end of the court-approved repayment period.\nIf overdue or defaulted credit accounts significantly hurt your credit scores before you turned to bankruptcy—a situation common to many filers—you may find that filing for bankruptcy has less impact on your scores than you might have imagined, if only because your scores had already fallen about as far as they could. Some individuals with heavily damaged scores even see small score _increases_ after filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy—but their scores are still likely to be in poor territory. That can be a hard fact to face, but facing it is exactly how to begin your credit recovery plan. END