Jurisdictions allow individuals to declare their bankruptcy through a procedure called personal bankruptcy. That simply means that you cannot afford to pay your debts any longer and requires removal of any such obligation by giving up control of your financial assets. You can either do it through a debtors’ petition (doing it yourself) or through a creditors’ petition (someone who you owe money can do so).
Credit counseling for bankruptcy is required by those who intend to take filing of bankruptcy as a way forward for their financial problems. All people who plan to file for bankruptcy protection are required to get a credit counseling session from an approved organization within 180 days of filing.
While personal bankruptcy can be filed through Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, there are other types of bankruptcies that apply to different situations. While Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 seek to provide repayment solution either by liquidating the financial assets or repayment schedule respectively, the other chapters pertain to businesses, fishermen or farmers, foreign investors etc.