The primary benefits of bankruptcy are four fold.
The first benefit is that on the filing of bankruptcy, creditors are generally barred from debt collection by what is called the automatic stay in bankruptcy. Creditors' telephone calls stop, debt collection stops, car repossessions stop and mortgage foreclosures and other law suits are stopped. Some of these actions are stopped permanently when the discharge of debts is issued, but others are only stopped temporarily even if the discharge of debts is eventually issued.
The second benefit is that most consumer bankruptcy cases end with the issuance of the discharge of debts. The discharge extinguishes most credit card debt and medical debts as well as many other types of debt.
The third benefit is that each individual debtor filing for bankruptcy can exempt certain property from the claims of creditors. Exemptions are discussed elsewhere at this web site.
The fourth benefit, available in a reorganization type bankruptcy only, such as chapter 13, is that a bankruptcy repayment plan will allow a debtor to payoff taxes or the arrearages on his mortgage over a period of up to five years.
Source ( http://www.thebankruptcylawyer.net )