If you have filed for bankruptcy, you may be wondering how it affects your financial obligations. While there are many debts that can be discharged in bankruptcy, such as credit card and other unsecured debts, other debts cannot be discharged. Child support is one of them. No matter how far behind in child support payments you may be, filing for bankruptcy does not discharge these debts.

How does Chapter 13 affect child support?

When you file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the court sees child support as a primary payment. If you have missed payments, you must get caught up and repay them by the end of the bankruptcy filing. Since Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows debts to be organized and repaid in a different manner, child support must be included in this repayment. Just because you have to pay back child support does not mean this is to your disadvantage. In some instances, paying back child support can reduce the amount that you owe in other unsecured debts.

Filing for bankruptcy puts an automatic stay is place on your property. An automatic stay stops many creditors from continuing to try and collect your property. This allows you to regroup your property and figure out a repayment plan with your bankruptcy attorney. In a Chapter 13 filing, any earnings made after filing are considered a part of the bankruptcy estate and any creditor seeking these earnings must get court-permission to access them. This will apply for child support.

A Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing will only create a plan for you to pay back your child support before you filed for bankruptcy, and it is your responsibility to make sure that you remain current on other support payments. Should you choose to cease child support payments during your bankruptcy filing, the courts can lift the automatic stay and allow creditors to come after the bankruptcy estate for child support.

When you seek to get out of bankruptcy, you must show to the courts that you have paid off all back-logged child support. If there is any money owed, you will be unable to get out of bankruptcy.

If you are wondering how child support affects your particular bankruptcy case, check out the directory of bankruptcy attorneys to find a law firm in your area!