Yes, it might in several ways. There are certain debts that may be incurred during a divorce through a written court order or property settlement that may not be dischargeable in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
An experienced attorney will need to review a divorce decree to determine whether you may face contempt actions for filing to abide by the order following completion of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. A Chapter 13 may be used as a “super-discharge” to eliminate non-child support divorce orders.
In addition, property that you may receive in the future through a divorce decree may be taken in a Chapter 7 filing. Any time there is a divorce that is pending or recently completed, you should advise your attorney of this fact and supply a copy of the divorce decree and property settlement.
Archives for July 2013
Should I file for divorce before filing for bankruptcy?
There are many factors that would help determine how to answer that question. Such things might include:
- How long have the parties been separated?
- What assets do you and the other spouse have?
- Are there joint debts that you would both like to discharge prior to final entry of the divorce decree?
- How long will the divorce take to complete versus current action of creditors, such as a pending garnishment?
- Are there joint debts for which the court might hold you responsible to pay?
An experience bankruptcy attorney will be able to discuss the risks and rewards regarding filing before or after a divorce is complete.
Can I stop bill collectors from calling me?
The moment a bankruptcy case is filed the law requires that creditors stop all collection activity including telephone calls, billings, garnishments, freezing bank accounts, and all lawsuits and foreclosures.
If a case has not been filed then the only law that may decrease the frequency of collector calls is the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This law only applies to debt collectors and not to the actual creditor itself.
If you are receiving harassing telephone calls then you should contact legal counsel as soon as possible.
Listing Your Bills:
When you list your bills prior to filing for bankruptcy, it is your responsibility to provide the names, proper addresses, and account numbers for all your bills. A bill that is not listed in the bankruptcy or that has a wrong address cannot be discharged.
You will be given a copy of the bankruptcy papers to keep for your records. It is your responsibility to check the papers in Schedules D, E, and F, to be sure all your bills are listed.
Related articles: Creditors
What happens if I do not declare bankruptcy?
Our office often works with creditors to try and negotiate a lower settlement on claims and has reached great success. Our office oftentimes has a greater success in non-bankruptcy workouts because the threat of bankruptcy is always on the creditors mind when we negotiate.
Creditors know that our office has filed thousands of bankruptcies and that if they do not settle then there is a good chance that they will get nothing (or much less than we have offered).
In order to have a successful non-bankruptcy workout, we like to see a limited number of creditors (as any single non-cooperative creditor may ruin the whole deal for everyone) and a source of funds (such as borrowing from a friend or taking a hardship loan from retirement).
We recently had a client settle on four claims for less than $17,000 when he owed over $70,000. He did not want to file and was able to borrow from a retirement account. Our fees for saving him $50,000 was less than $2,000.
Whom do I need to inform that I have filed for bankruptcy?
Certainly in every case, you must list all of your creditors (even the ones you want to keep like a house and car and even the ones that are not dischargeable like student loans).
The filing of the bankruptcy will appear and remain on your credit report for ten (10) years, and anyone that has access to your credit report will know. While the court will need to know your employer information, the court will not inform your employer of your filing in a Chapter 7 case.
In a Chapter 13 personal reorganization there is a chance that the court may require that the plan payments come from your payroll if you work for a large employer. However, an experienced bankruptcy will be willing to ask that the court not make such a requirement if it might have a negative impact on your employment.
If you are being garnished, we will notify your payroll department to stop the garnishment immediately upon filing the case, but we will not notify anyone else without giving you a good reason.
Will bankruptcy affect my career or professional license?
Such a question is similar to asking, “Will someone break into my home?” My answer is the same: That is not supposed to happen.
The Bankruptcy Code specifically states, “No private employer may terminate the employment of, or discriminate with respect to employment against, an individual who is or has been a debtor under this title, a debtor or bankrupt under the Bankruptcy Act, or an individual associated with such debtor or bankrupt, solely because such debtor or bankrupt — (1) is or has been a debtor under this title or a debtor or bankrupt under the Bankruptcy Act; (2) has been insolvent before the commencement of a case under this title or during the case but before the grant or denial of a discharge; or (3) has not paid a debt that is dischargeable in a case under this title or that was discharged under the Bankruptcy Act.”
In addition to that, the Bankruptcy Code also states “a governmental unit may not deny, revoke, suspend, or refuse to renew a license, permit, charter, franchise, or other similar grant to, condition such a grant to, discriminate with respect to such a grant against, deny employment to, terminate the employment of, or discriminate with respect to employment against, a person that is or has been a debtor under this title or a bankrupt or a debtor under the Bankruptcy Act, or another person with whom such bankrupt or debtor has been associated, solely because such bankrupt or debtor is or has been a debtor under this title or a bankrupt or debtor under the Bankruptcy Act, has been insolvent before the commencement of the case under this title, or during the case but before the debtor is granted or denied a discharge, or has not paid a debt that is dischargeable in the case under this title or that was discharged under the Bankruptcy Act.”
In short – my answer remains the same … that is not supposed to happen!
Will my paycheck be garnished?
In most Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases, your wages cannot be garnished. Exceptions exist, such as past-due child support. If you have a job and do need to declare bankruptcy, Chapter 13 might be a better choice. Learn more at Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 13.
Be sure you understand all of the ramifications of filing for bankruptcy and all of your options, whether you do or don’t file. For immediate assistance, please contact us.
Will I need to go to court?
Yes and no. You will need to attend a “meeting of creditors.” The meeting of creditors is usually held as a telephone conference call or a web video conference. These conferences were previously held at a Federal courthouse. We typically have our clients come to our office for the meeting of creditors. For a more complicated case, an appearance before the Federal Bankruptcy Judge may be required. However, in that vast majority of cases, you will not ever appear before an actual judge.
The meeting of creditors is an opportunity for creditors to meet with you and ask you questions about your case. Creditors very rarely appear in Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 cases and the judge assigned to your case is prohibited from attending.
Instead it will be the Trustee, your attorney, and you. The trustee is the court appointed official you will ask you questions about your filing and determine whether everything is correct. By the time you appear before the trustee, you should be well aware as to what to expect.