Table of contents

Military Bankruptcy

3 Surprising Facts About Military Bankruptcy

Can you file bankruptcy in the military? Of course you can. You don’t lose that right because you are serving our country. Wright Patterson Air Force Base has thousands of servicemen and women. Many of our service personnel need to file bankruptcy, but worry about their security clearance. By the way, I proudly served in the U.S. Navy back in the 1970’s. I thank each and every one of our service members for their service to our country. Military service and bankruptcy can go together without affecting your security clearance or your position. In fact, if you carry more debt than you can pay, this fact alone might cause MORE trouble for you than a bankruptcy would. You don’t give up your right to file bankruptcy because you serve in the military.

Security Clearance and Military Bankruptcy

My military clients worry about their security clearance if they chose to file bankruptcy. With WPAFB so close to my home office, I’ve helped hundreds of servicemen and women with bankruptcy. Filing bankruptcy has yet to create any loss of security clearance for any of my clients to date. The do report the bankruptcy to their commanding officer and the security people are notified. Several of my military clients have shared with me that their security officer has informed them that it’s not a problem to use Federal Law to deal with debts. In fact, NOT dealing with debt, just letting it get out of hand, will create a problem they don’t want to have.

Looking for More Articles on Bankruptcy?

Looking for more insight and articles on Bankruptcy? Head over to the Bankruptcy Learning Center for more information.

Visit the Bankruptcy Learning Center

Military Bankruptcy Chapter 7 or 13

There is no difference between Chapters 7 and 13 for our military personnel. I’ve filed over a hundred military cases, with the mixture about evenly split. Often, moving expenses don’t get reimbursed enough to cover moving a family to a new duty station. Or, unexpected expenses create credit debt that eventually becomes impossible to deal with any other way. Just like the civilian population, service members sometimes need debt relief, and military bankruptcy is the best way to handle serious money problems in or out of the service.

Military Bankruptcy and the Haven Act

The HAVEN act became effective August 23, 2019. I have already used the act for several of my military clients. This act, among other things, excludes veterans benefits from being counted in the means test, just like social security benefits have always been excluded. A number of my clients were unable to file Chapter 7 cases, or were required to pay more to their creditors, because of their VA benefits. No more!

I’ve discussed this matter directly with our local United States Trustee’s office.
I was informed that veteran’s benefits will not be counted for purposes of the means test by any of our local trustees in the Southern District of Ohio, and further more, if we disclose these benefits, they will also not be counted for other bankruptcy purposes. Thus, the law now treats veterans more fairly than before when they need to seek bankruptcy protection.

I’m proud to be a veteran. And, I am proud to be able to serve fellow veterans who need bankruptcy assistance. We can do your entire case online.

And, I’m proud to file military bankruptcy for my fellow veterans and for active duty servicemembers.

Military bankruptcy can help you focus on your job, and not worry about your finances.

Share This Article

Our Legal Services

Bankruptcy Learning Center

Useful Calculators

Here are two helpful calculators for managing your debt repayments and Chapter 13 commitments.

One of Ohio's Top-Rated Bankruptcy Attorneys,
Over 30,000 clients helped since 1986.