My Ex filed for a Chap.13 and the money owed to me was going to be discharged upon completion, but now she changed to Chap.7.

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In our divorce I was to get $105k but my EX fought over this in bankruptcy court and it came to the lien that I had on her house to be stripped and discharged upon completion of her Chap. 13 repayment plan. Now I have received a notice for a Chapter 7 plan. I know that this debt was not going to be discharged if she didn't complete her Chap. 13 plan or if she filed for a Chap. 7. Her attorney had the lien removed though a year ago. I don't want to get sucked up back into court over this is there some easy way have this debt brought back to life?

Attorney Answers

3
Edgar Hall ·
Unfortunately there is not a short answer to your question as it depends upon the basis and nature of the lien strip, you would need to have an attorney review the petition and the adversary/motion that stripped the lien. However, in a general sense, chapter 7 does not discharge property settlements like chapter 13 does and that likely would mean your lien (or at least the amount owed) would revive. In any case, you will want to have a bankruptcy attorney with experience in adversary proceedings and lien strips to review the paperwork in the case.
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Robert Russell ·
I have attached an article I wrote that gives you the general lay of the land on what divorce scenario debts/obligations are and are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. I hope it is helpful.
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Kenneth Schneider ·
The debt may have been dischargeable in Chapter 13 but not dischargeable in Chapter 7. The lien may have been stripped in Chapter 13, but you can undo that if she doesn't complete the Chapter 13. If my ex owed me $105,000 I would be glad they transferred from a 13 to a 7. Because of precisely this scenario (the debtor not completing the 13 frequently the bankruptcy Judge will require that the judgment/order stripping the lien is not enforceable if the debtor does not complete the plan. Even if this language is not in the document you should be able to have the judgment vacated if your ex does not complete the 13. If there is equity in the house for your lien to attach to, or if she is keeping the house, it will probably be worthwhile to pursue this. If there is no equity in the property and your ex is letting it go to foreclosure this avenue may not justify the cost. The only "easy way" to deal with this is to do nothing, wait until the Chapter 7 is done, then pursue collection of the debt. But I would encourage you to meet with an attorney and develop a strategy.
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