Many Debtors fall to the temptation of too much credit card debt.   Once the credit card debt is maximized, regular minimum payments do not bring down the balances.  The debtor is then stuck, without enough earnings to pay off the balances.   A Debtor can file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection to address his or her credit card predicament.  The filing of the bankruptcy petition instantly halts all collection activity, including phone calls, letters and lawsuits, until the court has had an opportunity to review the debtors situation and request for relief. The typical result is that all unsecured debt—including the credit card debt—gets discharged.  That is not always the result, however.   What the debtor is really asking the court to do in a Chapter 7 is sell whatever the Debtor owns free of any liens and pay the creditors.   If the debtor owns too many non-exempt assets—such as rental houses, excess equity in one’s home, or non-exempt cash on hand– the Bankruptcy court can sell or liquidate those assets and pay creditors.  Also, you cannot pick and choose which creditors you want to pay under either Chapter 7, or Chapter 13.  The bankruptcy law puts each creditor (including credit card creditors) in a class of creditors and payments are made to each class according to a priority system provided each class  by the bankruptcy law.   Debtors who because of their higher earnings are required to file under Chapter 13,  will pay some percentage of all their  debts according to a court confirmed plan, over a maximum period of three to five years.  In the typical Chapter 7 case, however, credit card debt falls in the least protected class of debts and is discharged.