Can I Get Rid of My Child Support Obligations Through Bankruptcy
My question involves bankruptcy in the state of: OHIO
Recently i have been hit with several child support cases all at once which has caused me to max out most of my credit cards to keep up with standard of living.
I now plan to file bankruptcy & have a few questions & have had no luck searching around for any complete answers. My questions are as followed:
(1) What to file, chapter 7,11,13?
(2) Are they going to look at the credit card maxing as fraud?
(3) I heard you cannot relinquish a student loan by filing bankruptcy, is this true?
(4) Can i pay off my student loan with a credit card now before filing?
(5) Will i be able to rid my child support arrearages debt?
(6) I am progressively getting into a bigger hole. Should I wait for my debt to get worse?
Any information would be appreciated, thanks in advanced. from, A POOR MAN IN OHIO
Re: Child Support is Causing Me to Lose Everything Looking for a Solution
Quote:
Quoting
arlo
My question involves bankruptcy in the state of: OHIO
Recently i have been hit with several child support cases all at once which has caused me to max out most of my credit cards to keep up with standard of living.
I now plan to file bankruptcy & have a few questions & have had no luck searching around for any complete answers. My questions are as followed:
(1) What to file, chapter 7,11,13?
(2) Are they going to look at the credit card maxing as fraud?
(3) I heard you cannot relinquish a student loan by filing bankruptcy, is this true?
(4) Can i pay off my student loan with a credit card now before filing?
(5) Will i be able to rid my child support arrearages debt?
(6) I am progressively getting into a bigger hole. Should I wait for my debt to get worse?
Any information would be appreciated, thanks in advanced. from, A POOR MAN IN OHIO
1. That's something you should discuss with a bk attorney.
2. That's certainly a possibility
3. Generally yes - google the "Brunner Test".
4. See 1.
5. Not a chance.
6. See 1.
Re: Child Support is Causing Me to Lose Everything Looking for a Solution
(7) Also within the last year I took out 20k from my 401k and gave it to an ex girlfriend to keep her from filing for child support. Is this legal & will this be looked at in bankruptcy court?
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Also, thanks fort the quick response
Re: Child Support is Causing Me to Lose Everything Looking for a Solution
You can give someone a gift of your choosing.
Why you would try and do that though is beyond me - it obviously didn't work.
Re: Child Support is Causing Me to Lose Everything Looking for a Solution
I just gotta say this and, criticizing is not typically my style.
You have been hit with “several child support cases at once” and then recently tried to pay hush money to “an ex girlfriend to keep her from filing for child support”. In addition you maxed out your credit cards so you could “keep up with standard of living”, which I assume is something more than being homeless.
Sorry, but you managed to father who knows how many children, now take the responsibility and support them.
As to a bk:
1. Child support is not dischargeable period;
2. Student loans are dischargeable either in full or in part if you prove a hardship (I doubt a bk court will allow you to argue that you have a hardship due to all the child support you have to pay.);
3. The chapter you file depends upon your specific circumstances;
4. Sure you can use the credit cards to pay the student loans. But you better be ready to defend that 523(a)(2) complaint that gets filed against you by the credit card company; and
5. Running up more debt (waiting for it to get worse) just means you will be dealing with additional 523 complaints. Learn to live within your means.
Des.
Re: Can I Get Rid of My Child Support Obligations Through Bankruptcy
Consumer bankruptcies are typically Chapter 7 (discharge of debts, subject to a means test) and Chapter 13 (repayment of some portion of your debts, typically over five years). Chapter 13 can provide a benefit even if you have nondischargeable debts as you can get a repayment plan over the course of the bankruptcy that makes your entire debt load more manageable, even if you'll have a balance on the nondischargeable obligations when your bankruptcy is discharged. Many debtors lack the discipline to complete a Chapter 13 repayment plan. It is a discussion you'll want to have with your lawyer.
Pulling money out of a 401K plan to pay current obligations is generally foolish, because your 401K is protected from creditors while the cash you pull out is not. If your creditors find out that you gave somebody $20K, I very much doubt that they're going to believe that it was to keep her from filing a child support case against you, as opposed to your trying to hide assets from creditors - you may have taken an exempt asset and made it something they can reach. If that happened a year ago, unless there's some evidence that the money is still yours and that she's simply holding it for you on a pretext, I doubt it will be an issue.
A lot of people run up credit card debt before filing for bankruptcy. It's difficult for credit card companies to prove intent, so they typically rely upon statutory presumptions of preferences, debt accrued during the look back period, payment of some creditors but not others during the look back period, and the like to try to dispute recent charges or to try to recover money paid to one creditor as an improper preference such that it can be shared by all creditors.
It is exceptionally difficult to get a hardship discharge for even part of a student loan. "I have lots of other debts and financial obligations" isn't a form of hardship the court will be concerned about.
All in all, you should discuss your debts, assets, and income with a local bankruptcy lawyer to determine if you qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, whether or not you do whether you should instead consider Chapter 11, and what a creditor is likely to make of your recent financial transactions.