Divorce And Bankruptcy.
Divorce and Bankruptcy You have already had your world turned upside down by your divorce and then you find out that your ex has filed for bankruptcy, directly after. Then this question arises how do you protect yourself and also make sure that the divorce arrangement is honored? Through a bankruptcy one knows that all depts. are stopped; so what do you do about alimony, child support, back child support and so forth. There are certain debts that will survive a bankruptcy, and we find ex’s to get so upset after they file for bankruptcy after their divorce, thinking that they are just going to get rid of more. So what does survive a bankruptcy after divorce? Here is a list under the new bankruptcy abuse prevention act of 2005.
- Alimony
- Child Support and unpaid child support, from the past.
- Taxes Owed
Note: it is very important after you find out your ex has filed bankruptcy, after your divorce to file a proof of claim. This is placed in the bankruptcy courts to receive payment. So what happens after you divorce and you are owed property settlement, and your ex has filed bankruptcy? The new law for a chapter 7 states that non support obligations from a divorce are also non dischargeable. What does dischargeable mean? It says that your ex is still responsible for it. If the debt that is owed will hurt the spouse, more then it would hurt the person that owes it. Note: if you do not file a claim after your divorce with the bankruptcy courts then you may not be able to collect it later. Again this is very important, after your divorce and you find out your ex has filed bankruptcy to file your claims, I can not stress this enough. Although if your ex is filing a chapter 13 it could get a little broader, the debts dischargeable in chapter 13 that is not in chapter 7. So what happens here? How do you get the debt owed, Will you receive the debt owed to you in a chapter 13? Well it depends a lot on your state, but there are some questions as.
- What is the over all health of the people involved?
- Was there a need at the time of the divorce for support?
- Are their children, and are they under the age of 18?
- Was the money obligation supposed to have been paid in a lump sum or installments?
- Would the money obligation have been terminated at the time of a child turning the age of 18 or a spouse getting remarried?
It is very important to look at all these aspects and how soon after the divorce has taken place to when your spouse declares bankruptcy. Also making the decision to talk to a lawyer on all these matters may be important, it could save yo