People who file for bankruptcy are not alone: Consumers and businesses combined filed 794,960 bankruptcies in 2016, according to U.S. Courts Statistics and Reports.
One of the major downsides of declaring bankruptcy is that it will stay on your credit report for either seven years, in the case of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or 10 years, in the case of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which is typically used by businesses.
