The timing of the discharge varies, depending on the type/chapter bankruptcy. Typically, the court grants the discharge upon expiration of the time fixed for filing a complaint objecting to discharge. This typically occurs approximately four months after the debtor files the bankruptcy petition.

No. The debts discharged vary under each type/chapter of bankruptcy. So, the debtor must repay any debts excepted from bankruptcy.

Not all debts can be discharged due to a bankruptcy. The debts that cannot be discharged vary based on bankruptcy type/chapter.

• Debts for taxes owed;
• Debts resulting from anything – from money to property and more – that was obtained fraudulently;
• Debts not listed in the filing or which were voluntarily waived by the debtor;
• Debts owed to a spouse, former spouse, or child for alimony, maintenance, or support of the spouse, former spouse or child, if such is part of a court-ordered proceeding;
• Debts owed for willful and malicious injury to a person or property;
• Debts for government-sponsored educational loans. (There may be exceptions in circumstances in which undue hardship would be incurred.);
• Debts for death or personal injury caused by the debtor’s DUI; and
• Debts incurred after bankruptcy is filed.

In chapter 13, the debtor is entitled to a discharge upon completion of all payments in the repayment plan. In chapter 7, the debtor does not have an absolute right to a discharge.

You cannot remove a bankruptcy from your credit report. However, if an account is reported inaccurately, you can provide appropriate documentation and request correction of the record. You also may file an explanation with credit reporting agencies that describe events leading to your bankruptcy.

You can apply for credit at any time. Additionally, there is no law that prevents any creditor from extending credit to you again. Conversely, creditors are not required to extend credit to you, either. The decision to grant you credit is strictly up to the creditor.

Probably not. You likely can be just as effective dealing with credit reporting agencies on your own. There are helpful non-profit organizations – such as Consumer Credit Counseling – which may be helpful. Still, any help the for-profit “credit repair” outfits can provide is likely not balanced by the fees charged.

Trustees are appointed by the United States Trustee to facilitate key aspects of bankruptcy:

• Ensure creditors get as much money as possible;
• Run the first meeting of creditors;
• Collect and sell non-exempt property (chapter 7) or collect and pay out money on a repayment plan (chapter 13); and
• Obtain information and documents related to the bankruptcy

It’s worth noting that trustees are not necessarily attorneys. They are compensated through bankruptcy filing fees or through a fixed percentage of money distributed in the bankruptcy.

Yes. Each bankruptcy type/chapter enables creditors to object to specific debts or the manner in which your bankruptcy plan proposes addressing the repayment or discharge of that debt.

The debtor must attend the creditors’ meeting, which is a standard part of the bankruptcy process. At the meeting, which is conducted by the bankruptcy trustee, the debtor must respond to questions about how the situation evolved, actions taken with their property, debts listed in the filing/petition, and any other financial information. Failure to provide complete and truthful information can lead to the petition for bankruptcy being dismissed. The debtor could even be charged with perjury.

Creditors are notified of the meeting and may attend, but they are not required to do so; by not attending, the creditor does not waive any rights.

A reaffirmation agreement is a voluntary commitment by the debtor that he or she will reaffirm a specific debt and pay it. A reaffirmation legally obligates the debtor to pay all or a portion of the otherwise dischargeable debt. You can voluntarily repay any debt without a reaffirmation agreement, but your attorney can help you understand why you may want to legally reaffirm certain debts.

A bankruptcy can be reopened. Typically, this is done if questions arise as to why an item was included or omitted from the bankruptcy filing, or if other irregularities are suspected.

If an entry in your bankruptcy papers is missing or inaccurate, an amendment can be filed. It’s extremely important to try to submit a complete and truthful initial bankruptcy petition.

The bankruptcy court notifies your creditors by mail. Those creditors will be provided with various bits of information, typically including the following:

• The filing of bankruptcy;
• The case number;
• The automatic “stay;”
• The name of the trustee (for chapters 7 or 13);
• The date set for the meeting of creditors;
• The deadline for filing objections to the discharge of the debtor and/or the discharge of specific debts; and
• Whether and where to file claims.

You are protected from creditors once your bankruptcy petition is filed and stamped “Relief Ordered.” Creditors must stop all collection efforts against the debtor during the time the debtor is working out a plan (or while the trustee is gathering and preparing assets for sale). If after this point a creditor does continue to try to contact you, notify them in writing that you have filed bankruptcy; you’ll have to provide them with the case name or number and filing date, or even with a copy of the petition that demonstrates it was indeed filed.

For chapters 7 or 13, the filing of a bankruptcy petition “stays” most actions against the debtor or the debtor’s property. In general, this means creditors cannot call you to demand payment and they cannot initiate or continue wage garnishments.

The “stay” triggered by your bankruptcy filing stops and prevents foreclosure, repossession, garnishments, collection calls, and the like.

The law prohibits discriminatory treatment of debtors by government entities and private employers. Specifically prohibited are: termination; hiring discrimination; or denying, revoking, suspending, or declining to re-license, franchise, or similar privilege. Under these laws, a person may not be discriminated against because he or she was or has been a debtor, was insolvent before or during the case, or has not paid a debt that was discharged due to bankruptcy.

Unsecured debt is not tied to any type of property. This means there is nothing for the creditor to “claim” against the debt. Secured debt is secured by a lien of some type of property. This can be with agreement by you or involuntarily, through a court judgment or taxes or such. In the case of a secured debt, a creditor can most likely claim the property that secures the debt.

Bankruptcies remain on credit reports from seven up to 10 years.

Any decision to file bankruptcy must be carefully considered because of adverse affects on rudimentary aspects of life, such as your ability to obtain credit. In general, chapter 7 can be filed 8 years after a previous chapter 7, 6 years after a chapter 13 filing. Chapter 13 can be filed 4 years from a chapter 7 filing or 2 years from a chapter 13 filing.

A joint bankruptcy petition is filed by an individual and the individual’s spouse. Unmarried partners must file separately.

If only one spouse files for bankruptcy, the other spouse could be responsible for the debts, even though they did not file.

Yes; if a (principal) debtor cannot pay a loan and the loan has a co-signor on it, the lender can require payment from the co-signor once the principal has declared bankruptcy. This is important to know if you are ever considering co-signing a loan; you may someday be asked to take full responsibility for it.

A discharge means the debtor is no longer required by law to pay any debts that are discharged.