What is it with everybody going bankrupt? are you better off in the long run, just had a quick surf about this and it appears that after 12 months you are discharged from your debts, cant be bad, how do the creditors get there monies back, after that.
Avoid it if possible. A bad credit rating never disappears - so in future you will still have problems getting credit - from a house mortgage to tv rental. Even paying insurance by monthly payments may be a problem.
The least we can do is to secure our savings and investments.
It also becomes necessary to diversify the portfolio of our investments. People who believe in the economic cycles and otherwise also are hopeful the US economy will be better off/recover at this time next year.
The year discharge is simply the point you are free from the controls of the bankrupcy, as sandmaster said the effects will last for much longer.
In the current climate as a former bankrupt I doubt anybody will give you any sort of credit, and when they start to again it will be a massive interest rate.