If you have asked around about bankruptcy, you may have heard horror stories, where so-and-so’s bankruptcy was blasted all over the local newspaper and everyone in their home town found out about it. To my knowledge, in Minnesota, there are no major newspapers who report bankruptcy filings. That being said, bankruptcy is public information and below are the most common ways someone can find out about it.
First, your bankruptcy case and the details provided in it (except confidential information like social security numbers) are published on the bankruptcy court’s website Pacer. Pacer is a website anyone can access with an account. To access and find someone’s case on Pacer, they would need to create an account, search for the case, and then pay to see the case.
The second way someone can find out about your bankruptcy case is by pulling your credit report. Bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for 10 years, therefore if anyone pulls your credit in that timeframe they will see you filed.
Finally, if someone is a creditor in your case or a party to receive notice of filing, they will find out about your case from the notices the court sends. Typically, the first notice they would receive is the Notice of Filing with information about your case and hearing dates. Other notices will be sent throughout the case as well though.
There are some details the public will never find out about a person due to filing bankruptcy. Even though the bankruptcy case is public information, full social security numbers, date of birth, and minor children’s names are not disclosed in the case.
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If you have questions about bankruptcy, visit www.lifebacklaw.com to speak with an attorney. You will be glad you did!
