Legal Question in Bankruptcy in New York

Re: bankruptcy

Unfortunately not. The Law prohibits you from picking and choosing which of your creditors to include in a bankruptcy petition and which to exclude. All creditors regardless of amount must be listed. You can however, opt to reaffirm any debt (in other words sign an agreement showing intent to pay the creditor back)which would then be exempt from discharge. Bear in mind that once reaffirmed, it cannot be "re-added" back into the bankruptcy petition and you will be responsible for the debt's repayment regardless of a change in your financial circumstance. Moreover, it should be noted that even if you do reaffirm any of the debts, the creditor has the right to cancel your credit card priviledges because you have filed bankruptcy. It is built into their applications and most companies inforce it. So although you have removed a creditor from the discharge list and have agreed to repay the debt, you still may lose your charge card!

Re: bankruptcy

Furthering Mr. Reichelscheimer's response to your question, the Bankruptcy Court must approve any reaffirmation agreement you wish to sign. Even if you desperately want to sign one, the Court may disapprove the agreement and preclude the agreement from taking effect.

Nothing, however, precludes you from paying your debts once discharged. Your creditors can no longer contact you, but you can contact them.

If your debts that you wish to reaffirm are purchase-money debts (car loan, mortgage, ...), the creditor wants the money, not the collateral. Nothing prevents you, even in the absence of a reaffirmation agreement, from continuing to pay on these debts until the balance owed before the bankruptcy filing is paid off. I've had several clients successfully continue to pay on car loans and leases without reaffirming the debt. However, be aware that One Missed Payment = repossession usually.

THE INFORMATION PRESENTED HERE IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND IS NOT INTENDED, NOR SHOULD IT BE CONSTRUED, AS LEGAL ADVICE. THIS POSTING DOES NOT CREATE ANY ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN US. FOR SPECIFIC ADVICE ABOUT YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION, CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY.