i've bin through bankrupt my self the past 4 years , but we have welfare / social security here , and a law that protects people up to a certain limit when they are unable to pay bills . We are now able to make a fresh start again taking small steps again. We have a system / law that if you are in debt because of bad luck (sick , victim of fraud etc) and not on purpose because you kept shopping :) , the court will put you under surveillance for 3 years at least where you have to show that you are able to take care of things and work , you will get minimum wage , and the rest of the money is saved for debts pay off. after those 3 years if you behaved correctly you get a clean slate i think it's called in English, meaning all debts gone.