Retirement is supposed to mean financial stability for seniors. But increasingly, Americans over the age of 65 are getting into trouble with debt and turning to the bankruptcy courts for relief. In 2007, seniors represented 7 percent of all bankruptcy filers. More than a decade earlier, only 2 percent of those filing for bankruptcy were aged 65 or older.

According to a 2010 report by University of Michigan Law School professor John Pottow, seniors are the fastest growing demographic of bankruptcy filers. But bankruptcy -- whether it's a Chapter 7 liquidation or a Chapter 13 plan to renegotiate and repay debts -- poses some special issues for seniors who, unlike other filers, tend to have more equity in their homes and less of a chance of increasing their income so late in life.

Seniors in debt should consider these six questions before proceeding with a bankruptcy filing.