Alternatives:

Can you avoid bankruptcy on your own:  To explore non bankruptcy alternatives, create a budget for your realistic, monthly expenditures for current living.  Include mortgage and car payments, but exclude all other existing debt service. 

With the money you have available each month after paying your current living expenses, can you pay off your existing debts at the current interest rates in 3 years?

Can you reduce expenses, increase income, negotiate rates or sell assets to make that possible?

Consider long and hard before resorting to liquidating IRA's or 401K plans to pay creditors: These assets are generally protected from collection actions by creditors;  they are hard to replenish once spent; but most importantly, using retirement savings to pay creditors may create new debt in the form of income taxes and penalties for early withdrawal.  Your good intentions to repay creditors may just end up substituting Uncle Sam as a tax creditor in place of your existing creditors. 

Can you avoid bankruptcy with outside help?

If you can't pay off your debt within three years on the present terms, contact Consumer Credit Counselors, or a similar organization;  they can help you make a budget and  negotiate a repayment plan  that may include a reduced or even zero interest rate on your existing debt.  Creditors generally cease collection actions against those participating in CCC plans.

These plans usually work best when the debt is primarily credit card debt.  CCC counselors sometimes exclude non dischargeable tax debt from the repayment plan, leaving the consumer paying unsecured, dischargeable credit card debt while non-dischargeable taxes or back support go unpaid.  That approach seldom gets the debtor the relief needed. 

Debt settlement plans seldom work.