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My spouse was in a car accident which was determined to be her fault. At the time our car insurance coverage was lapsed. The person she hit is going to file a lawsuit, however we had filed and submitted bankruptcy papers prior to being notified of a lawsuit. We live in Maine, and my question is what should we do about this pending lawsuit? Is this something that jail time can be decided upon if we do not have any money?
Was this person listed as a creditor in the bankruptcy? If not, talk to your lawyer about adding them.
Definitely let your lawyer know of this lawsuit. It's possible if lawsuit filed & judgment rendered after filing bk, it may not be able to be included in the bk. re going to jail: You or your wife won't go to jail because you can't pay a debt -if a judgment is rendered against your wife that cannot be discharged in bk due to filing date, to obtain payment of the debt non-exempt assets in your state can be seized. (if there are any assets to seize)
Many bankruptcy courts will, as a matter of routine, grant debtors' motions to amend schedules to list previously omitted creditors. There's a small fee (currently $26), and you would want to make the amendment as early as you can in the process. Check with the court to see if amendment is still timely and if they have a form that you can use. (Some bankruptcy courts even let you amend online, although I don't see that feature on the Maine bankruptcy court website.)
Aaron, since he said the person is going to file lawsuit & no judgment amt. yet, can they still add this to bk (can they be considered a creditor at this time) -- I would like to know for my own info. Thanks. Betty (I had read where it might be a problem if judgment after bk filed.)
You can include creditors and potential creditors in your bankruptcy, including lawsuits and potential lawsuits. They can attempt to establish that their claim is non-dischargeable, that their claim should be resolved in the civil courts (with the lifting of the stay so that litigation may proceed), or try to resolve their claim through the bankruptcy proceedings.
Ok - thanks -- well that's good.
Thank you betty and Aaron
Another question I had is if I am to be involved in a lawsuit, should I seek to get a bankruptcy lawyer or a different lawyer?
Who filed for Chapter 7 you or your wife or both? I doubt you can file for BK just becaus eof this Law Suit but you can be added to your spouses if not already on there since if your married you have many shared debts
My wife and I both filed for a joint bankruptcy. We did not file for this to avoid a lawsuit, but the lawsuit came after we filed. Another question I had is that we are in need of another car because one of our cars was totalled in a accident, if we got a cheap car now from a relative, how would this affect our pending bankruptcy?