To Have and to Hyphenate: The Marriage Name Game. Correction Appended. WHEN I first met my husband-to-be at a publishing party several years ago, he glanced at my name tag and saw Kismet. Actually he saw ''Peterson,'' but it was the opening gambit he was searching for. ''We have almost the same name,'' he announced in a British-sounding accent.
Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, bankruptcies can be reported for 10 years from the filing date (not the discharge date, which comes later). However, all three major credit reporting agencies will remove Chapter 13 bankruptcies seven years from the date the case was filed.
The court judgment will appear as a public record in your credit report and will remain for seven years from the filing date. Any public record item in a credit report would likely be considered very negative and could affect your ability to qualify for a new rental agreement. If included in bankruptcy, the judgment will be removed when the bankruptcy is discharged. You may want to submit documentation of the bankruptcy filing, discharge, and schedule of debts showing the judgment was included. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy will continue to be reported for 10 years from the filing date, regardless of the discharge date.