Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Illinois

The debt was required to be included in your bankruptcy schedules, but you should have understood whether the obligation to your wife would remain since it was part of the terms of your divorce. There is a chance that the laws at the time were slightly different concerning whether certain divorce-related debts were dischargeable, in which case your ex-wife may not have a case now. Your bankruptcy attorney may be able to check that for you. Did your bankruptcy attorney also have you list your ex-wife as a creditor?

I do not see that you have an issue with your bankruptcy attorney telling you to list the debt. In filing bankruptcy, you are attesting you have listed all of your assets and all of your liabilities. It would be an issue if the attorney told you to leave it off.

Do you know why this is coming up? I would expect that a debt that old would be barred unless the account has been continually used or there has been regular action on it.

There are a lot of angles to look at here. Speak with your attorney.