Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Connecticut

Mis-representation

Hello, can you offer any advice or information on the following topics?

1) Discharging student loans that are well over 10 years old? I recently filed bankruptcy in CT and my lawyer advised me that I could not discharge my student loans. Could I have or can I have it ammended to the banruptcy.

2) I am in deep debt with he IRS for 20,000.00 dollars of federal back taxes. Lawyer advised that I could not write off that debt either as I had not filed my taxes for the years in question. He advised I had to file the returns before filing bankruptcy, I did. Now, I am unemployed and have been since Dec 2001, have rotten credit and the IRS has slapped a lien on present and future properties. I am married to a working spouse and we also have three school aged children.

Any advice is greatly appreciated


Asked on 3/24/02, 1:56 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Joel M. Grafstein Grafstein & Arcaro, LLC

Re: Mis-representation

Student loans are not dischargeable and tax debts for any period of time that tax returns are not filed are also nondischargeable. If your wife is jointly liable on the tax returns (if they were 1040 tax liabilities) any refund will go to paydown the tax debt. If she was not jointly liable (for example, before you were married) then she should complete a special tax form as an innocent spouse and file with the tax form.

Unfortunately, the only relief that you have at this time is to do nothing (if you have no assets, then the IRS will not be able to take any enforcement action. Once you start working you might want to consider an offer in compromise to attempt to offer either a lump sum or some percentage of the tax debt. Good luck.

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Answered on 3/24/02, 11:39 am


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