Legal Question in Bankruptcy in New York

Re: Can a creditor try to collect years after discharge

You should have gotten a copy of your bankruptcy petition from your attorney. This debt is most likely listed on Schedule F, but check all the schedules to see if you did indeed list the debt.

If you listed the debt, report the collections activity to the bankruptcy court that granted your discharge. That creditor has no business attempting to collect a debt that was discharged in a bankruptcy. A discharge is a court order issued by a bankruptcy judge. Bankruptcy judges are federal judges and federal judges take a very dim view of violations of their orders.

If you did not list the debt, you'll very likely have to make some sort of payment arrangement with the creditor unless it is still possible to re-open the bankruptcy case and list the missing creditor. Depending on the size of the debt you "owe" the creditor, though, that may turn out to be more trouble than it's worth (meaning it will cost you court and attorney's fees to re-open a discharged case).

THE INFORMATION PRESENTED HERE IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND IS NOT INTENDED, NOR SHOULD IT BE CONSTRUED, AS LEGAL ADVICE. FOR SPECIFIC ADVICE ABOUT YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION, CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY.