Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Massachusetts

Re: Will dauther resonsible for father's debts?

The banks (and any other creditors) can, generally, only seek payment from people who have signed the loan documents. For example, if Able and Baker have co-signed for a car loan (and thus both agreed to be liable for the loan repayment) and Able gets a bankruptcy discharge, what has been discharged is Able's duty to pay the debt and the bank or finance company would continue to expect payments from Baker. The bank or finance company couldn't go after Charlie, though, if he didn't sign for the loan as he has no duty to repay it.

There are some issues that can cloud the otherwise straightforward answer. For example, if the car loan was for Charlie and he had arranged with Able and Baker to get the loan for him, then Charlie might also be liable for repaying it even though he didn't sign the loan papers.

The answer to your question, therefore, comes down to whether you are a co-signer (sometimes called a co-borrower) on the loans or if the banks knew that the loans were really for you even though only your father signed the papers. (The latter is rather rare, so the rest of the answer will focus on just the signing aspect.) Did you sign any papers in conjunction with these loans? If no, the banks will likely have no reason to come after you for repayment. If you did sign the loan documents as a co-signer / co-borrower, then the banks have the right to expect you to continue the payments once your father's obligation to pay was discharged. If this were the case, you'd have all the normal contract defenses that might be applicable (fraud, duress, underaged when signed, etc.) available to you to help eliminate your repayment obligations. If you did sign the loan papers, I'd suggest taking them to an attorney to find if there is a way to lessen their impact on you.

Craig

Re: Will dauther resonsible for father's debts?

It depends. Have you co-signed any of the loan documents? If you have then you may now be liable for the debt. I believe you are going to have to look over any paperwork and check to see if you acted as a guarantor and or co-sign any work.