Many young Americans aspire to join a branch of the United States Military for many different reasons. Prior to joining the military, it is entirely possible that you may experience some financial difficulties that may cause you to consider filing for bankruptcy. What you may not realize, however, is that filing for bankruptcy may have certain effects on your ability to join the military that you should always take into account before you make a decision to do so. An experienced bankruptcy attorney will discuss these potential effects and advise you of your best options in your particular case.
Showing Financial Responsibility
In order to join the military, you often have to be found to have “financial responsibility.”¹ This is in part considered to be a reflection of your character and in part to make sure you can adequately live on your salary in the military. Specifically, the military may look for the following in your financial history:

• Repossessions or foreclosures²
• Past due accounts
• Excessive credit card balances
• Financial fraud, such as tax evasion or embezzlement

Though many people may consider bankruptcy to be a negative financial factor, bankruptcy often indicates that you chose to regain control of a spiraling financial situation. For this reason, bankruptcy is not necessarily a factor that will demonstrate financial irresponsibility. However, the military may consider the following as irresponsible in regard to bankruptcy:

• Making excessive luxury purchases only to file for bankruptcy afterward
• Committing any type of bankruptcy fraud
• Filing for bankruptcy multiple times
• Failing to comply with court orders during a bankruptcy

Security Clearance
If you are pursuing a position or future career advancement that requires or will require higher security clearance,³ the military will take a closer look at your financial responsibility to gauge how responsible you will be with sensitive information. For this reason, even if you are able to enlist, bankruptcy may be a factor in obtaining security clearances in the future.
If you are concerned about the future effects of bankruptcy on your professional life, you should discuss the situation with an experienced bankruptcy attorney. Call Long Island bankruptcy lawyer Ronald D. Weiss for a free consultation at 631-319-9238 today.
References:
¹http://www.militaryhub.com/lifestyle-family-finance
²http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreclosure
³http://www.state.gov/m/ds/clearances/c10978.htm