Legal Question in Bankruptcy in New York

Re: Divorce and Bankruptcy

Dear Reader:

In examining this response, please note that we are not entering into an attorney/client relationship, that this is to be taken as informative, and not as legal advice, that it is always best to speak to a lawyer in your area and/or in the area where the transaction and/or events occurred, and that my answer is necessarily limited by the fact that I have not seen the documentation or had an opportunity to go over the matters with you in detail.

Ordininarily, bankruptcy does not discharge marital obligations, although the divorce court may take it into account in deciding how to divide assets. While it is possible to cancel or reduce some of the debts and to recover some wasted money within the bankruptcy, not all can. If money has been wasted, your mother may get a bigger percentage of the remaining assets than she otherwise would have in the divorce, but don't forget that neither parent can draw blood from a stone, and if there is no money there is no money. By refusing to reduce the amount of maintenance if your father quits working, the court may effectively require your father to work or as long as he is able so he can pay off his maritial obligations, but presumably it will allow him to retire from work at some point.

The house is a special case. To the extent that the house is in both names and the debt only in his, it is hard for creditors to force her out of the house, though she may get little or nothing when it is sold.

As I mentioned before, this is something that you will want to take up with a lawyer of your own selection, either in your state or area or in a place where some of the pertinent events occurred.

Rod Kovel Attorney at Law 516-312-9900