Bankruptcy and Divorce Payments

When you get divorced, it can be hard, especially when there are children involved. It can be hard enough to pay your own bills, but having to pay someone else’s bills, too? That can be quite a struggle!

Alimony and child support payments exist for a reason, though, and failure to pay them can directly result in someone else, possibly your children, going without food.

So what happens when you file for bankruptcy? Will the court discharge your alimony or child support payments? Not usually, no.

When you owe money to a creditor, that money goes into their bank accounts. But when you owe money to another person, that money goes directly into the things that they need to live. That’s why the courts usually won’t discharge alimony or child support payments unless there are significant mitigating circumstances.

However, bankruptcy can still be an immense benefit to you if you’re struggling with those payments. By having all of your other debts reduced or eliminated, that money that you used to pay to creditors can instead go to people who will actually appreciate it, and for whom it will make a difference in their life.

It’s best to secure the services of a bankruptcy attorney when dealing with complicated situations such as divorce or child support, because only a bankruptcy attorney will know how to properly represent those situations in court so that everyone can receive the highest level of benefits from your bankruptcy process.

You can only file for bankruptcy once every several years, so be sure that you make the most of it!