Legal Question in Bankruptcy in California

Caveat: the following opinion relates to California law only and assumes the bankruptcy petitioner has resided in California at least two years at the time the petition is filed.

A married debtor is entitled to file a bankruptcy petition separately from his spouse. Upon the debtor's declaration that the spouses have separate households, there would be no need to report the separated spouse's income or her address. But there are still potential pitfalls:

1) the trustee will need a copy of any domestic support order as well as the address of the recipient. 2) In California, you must list on your petition all community property: i.e. property the married couple acquired during marriage and before separation. Such community property is part of the bankruptcy estate, which is subject to liquidation in a chapter 7 bankruptcy. However, this information should be known to the filing debtor 3) there is often (but not always) a need for a non-filing spouse's waiver, which facilitates the filing spouse's ability to exempt (protect) community property and his separate property from liquidation. While most often signing of the waiver can only benefit the non-filing spouse, the latter's failure to cooperate might throw a wrench in the proceedings. Worst case, the filing debtor might need to postpone filing until after dissolution of marriage is finalized. Even then, property settlements must be taken into account. Your father must consult with a bankruptcy attorney in his district. Such consultation should take place ASAP.