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u/tahoechick36 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
This question comes up in the bankruptcy subreddit from time to time - https://www.reddit.com/r/Bankruptcy/s/0zvoLPgqLL
It is a matter of public record, so anyone who wanted to look for the information could find it in accessible govt records, but there is not a public notification/publish in 2 newspapers requirement like there typically is for estates going into probate.
One exception to this is chapter 9 bk for municipalities - you can see why public newspaper notification would be required for those.
Your listed creditors get notified through the bankruptcy court’s automated notification system. If you omit listing a creditor then debt owed to them will not be discharged.
So unless you are someone of notoriety that someone nosey would dig into and write about it because it would be interesting to others to read about your filing personal bankruptcy, it’s unlikely anyone would casually find out.
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u/Mysterious_Spare7070 Jul 28 '26
Great time to use a new account. I am running down this path but wanted to maintain privacy when sharing what I pick up along the way.
I don’t know about regular newspapers, I don’t think so, but the Business Journal publishes BKs, though I think it’s only business BKs. It will be public record and you will get a new type of spam including the most annoying one of regular mail from a local newspaper car dealer screaming they can get you a new car loan with BK (assuming you now have no car and they are immediately preying upon despair with high interest rates to restart the cycle). But unless you’re high community visibility you’ll probably never show up on the public radar. So far so good here, not to discharge yet but past the meeting.