Fort Hood Texas Custody and Divorce Lawyers
One of the key features of the new bankruptcy rule is the introduction of means test. Anyone who wants to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy has to take part in a means test. This test usesannual income limits depending on household size as one criteria of eligibility.
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The division of payments and debts in a divorce should always take into consideration the chances that one spouse or the other may file for bankruptcy after the divorce. Spousal maintenance payments cannot be discharged in a bankruptcy but non-specific obligations from one spouse to the other can. Therefore, if the couple agrees that one spouse will give the other a lump-sum in lieu of on-going maintenance payments, this debt should still be considered as maintenance and so it cannot be discharged.
Divorcing couples often divide their joint credit card liabilities amongst them. However, if one spouse subsequently declares bankruptcy, they can have the debt they agreed to pay forgiven and the credit card company will look to the other spouse to pay the full debt. This risk might be mitigated by the divorce agreement stating that the credit card debt is not dischargeable and this agreement is brought to the (notice|attention} of the bankruptcy judge.
Many times, a spouse may buy out the other's interest in the home in exchange for payments to be made over time after the divorce. These payments can be forgiven bybankruptcy and the spouse owed the money should protect him/herself by requiring the other spouse to provide a deed of trust or some other enforceable instrument as a future guarantee of payment.
The new bankruptcy regulations have made child support payments the maximum priority debt that should be repaid by anyone seeking bankruptcy protection.
