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Debt is a commitment to do something, to give something or refrain from doing anything. Debt itself is not harmful, like fire or knife is no harmful itself. Social work focuses on the debt when the indebtedness of individuals or of the entire population grows so much that it is a barrier to further individual, social or economic development. The Czech Republic is fighting over-indebtedness both by education ie by increasing financial literacy (the subjective side) and by regulating the conditions under which banks or non-bank entities can lend to individuals (the structural side). Thanks to these measures, the overall debt ratio of the Czech Republic's population is increasing, but the number of over-indebted persons is slightly decreasing. The article deals with the causes and factors that contribute to the formation of pathological debt (over-indebtedness) of people in process of insolvency in Czech Republic. On the basis of the conducted research, we believe that the existing model of financial literacy education is not sufficient for the part of the over-indebted persons, because it develops a rational decision-making aspect and neglects the emotional aspect of decision making, which is a significant factor in the debts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]