Do you know the meaning of the term “dischargeable debt”? If you’re attempting to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy on your own, you had better look it up. You’ll also want to find out which debts currently count as dischargeable and whether or not you can list them in a Chapter 7 filing. While you’re at it, look up your state and federal tax codes, any recent changes in personal and business tax deductions, interest guidelines, and any contracts you have with credit card companies, auto loan agencies, or mortgage lenders. You’ll be looking for “no bankruptcy” clauses in each.Are you overwhelmed yet? Once you start the process you will be, unless you hire a Minneapolis bankruptcy lawyer to help you. The laws and loopholes involved in Chapter 7 are just too complex for an average individual to handle on their own. To make it even more difficult, all of the separate elements of the filing are governed by their own sets of rules and guidelines. The tax debt that you might have been able to discharge last year may not be eligible this year and those credit card bills might be governed by different regulations with new federal guidelines now taking effect.Chapter 7 is a personal bankruptcy procedure where you can eliminate a good portion of your outstanding debt without a restructuring plan. If you qualify, it could be an opportunity to literally start over again, debt-free. You can read some books on the subject and try to pull it off on your own, but you’re more likely to be approved if you use a qualified attorney to do the work for you. Getting out of some of those contracts with “no bankruptcy” clauses in them could get a little sticky. You also won’t want to deal with loan or mortgage brokers yourself if you can avoid it.What is the objective of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing? You want to eliminate debt without losing any of your assets or paying high buy-out fees. A Minneapolis bankruptcy attorney knows how to do that, and our success rate is far higher than that of those who try it without an attorney. Why would you want to attempt to do it on your own when that type of experienced help is available to you?