Bankruptcy

when a person or Corpor Ation decides it can't pay back its debt and goes through a legal process to shortchange its creditors

related: Fore Closure

Personal Bankruptcy became harder to use after the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), supported by Joe Biden (since he comes from the Credit Card state) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bankruptcy_Abuse_Prevention_and_Consumer_Protection_Act