[crathke]

Speaking as someone who has worked in consumer credit for 21 years, I think you actually have two issues at play here.

Firstly, have you consulted a bankruptcy attorney about your situation? I got somewhat of a mixed message from your original post. If, after three years, "everything is back to normal", then personally I advise against filing backruptcy. Are you still trying to pay on those accounts? Receiving collections calls and letters? Or have the accounts been charged off by the original creditors and what is remaining is the adverse record on your credit history?

If it is the former, and you are still being contacted by your creditors, and if you cannot work out a repayment plan with each one individually (many will forgive late fees and even interest..and in some cases will report you as "current" to the credit bureaus if you honor any payment arrangements you make)..and if a Consumer Credit Counseling Service (an organization who makes those arrangements for you; you pay the CCCS and they disburse payments to each creditor on your behalf) , then bankruptcy is a consideration. However, I would stringly urge you to consider the other two options I have presented first.

If it is the latter--the accounts have been charged off by the creditors and you are not receiving calls or letters...then bankruptcy will not help....not for the purpose you are considering.

Personally, and based on my experience in the lending field, bankruptcy nearly never "helps"--it only makes things worse. If you were to go with one of the first two options--working things out with each creditor individually or working with a service--eventually the credit history will turn itself around on its own and within 3-5 years you'll be back where you "should" be. A bankruptcy will remain on your credit file for 7 years and on court filings for up to 10. The presence of the filing on your credit history will depress your credit score and make it difficult for you to qualify for "prime" rates until such a time as it "falls off" the record.

Now--as to how that impacts an adoption? Well, one of the things some agencies look for is the ability to financially care for a child. At the time of our adoption, my company was in shutdown mode and I wasn't certain if/where/when I would be working by the time our process was complete. In our case, my husband earned enough to satisfy the financial requirements. I don't believe our agency even asked about bankruptcy--we brought up to them the fact that my employer was dissolving our division.

However, I would strongly suggest that you be completely honest with both your agency and your social worker regardless of the decision you make regarding your finances. Hiding any detail could raise other red flags about you that don't need to be raised.