Legal Question in Consumer Law in Wisconsin

The easiest and most certain way to protect yourself would be for you to file your own bankruptcy, which should not cost too much more than $1000 for a simple consumer filing. However, you could also take your ex wife back to family court for contempt, since her obligations to protect you from this creditor under the divorce judgment are not automatically discharged in her bankruptcy, even if her duty to pay the creditor is discharged. Instead, family court and bankruptcy court have concurrent jurisdiction to decide whether or not she still needs to pay on the credit card. You could also file an adversary proceeding in her bankruptcy case where the issue could be addressed. In this situation, bankruptcy courts use a balancing test in order to decide which former spouse can most appropriately handle the debt. Of course, if she does not have the money to pay it, all the court orders in the world will not get it paid. You could therefore still end up needing to file your own bankruptcy even if you litigated against her in family or bankruptcy court and won. Unlike those litigations, your own bankruptcy filing would be more of a �sure thing� return on the money that you would be spending. My comments in this online forum are offered for public educational purposes only and are not legal advice, nor do they create any attorney/client relationship between us. However, I may be able to formally represent you if you contact my Racine office and make arrangements to retain me. I also represent clients throughout WI.