Can I Be Sued After Chapter 7?

Debts Before Chapter 7

• Once a judge accepts your Chapter 7 request, he will declare most debts incurred before bankruptcy as permanently uncollectable. But this does not apply to child support, alimony, court fines and debts incurred right before you filed a case, warns the book "How to File for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy." This protection also does not apply to tax bills incurred less than three years before filing bankruptcy. If you committed a crime like drunken driving and someone sued you before Chapter 7, then you must repay that civil judgment despite your bankruptcy status.
  
  

Secured Obligations

• Secured debts are those backed by some type of collateral, such as a house or motor vehicle. Once the judge finalizes your Chapter 7 case, you must turn over the keys to the house and return the motor vehicle if this applies. But the creditor cannot legally sue you for his financial losses and must write it off on the company's tax returns.
  
  

Debts After Chapter 7

• If you incur debts after your Chapter 7 is finalized, you must repay them or face the consequences. You can get new credit the day after a judge discharges your case. But your past bankruptcy does not impact the rights of your future creditors, whether doctors or banks, to sue you for non-payment of debts. They can also demand garnishment of your wages. You cannot file another Chapter 7 bankruptcy until eight years have passed since your initial filing.
  
  

Student Loan Considerations

• Chapter 7 will likely have little if any impact on your federally-issued student loans. Such loans are usually provided under government programs like Stafford. A judge must accept your claim of serious and permanent disability in order to discharge your federal student loans. In rare cases you can also receive a discharge if your college closed, lied to get student loans funded or allowed you to attend classes without demanding proof of academic aptitude such as a placement test or high school equivalency diploma. Thus, the federal government can sue you if you do not pay your student loans and they were not discharged in Chapter 7. Private student loans and credit cards are eligible for Chapter 7 discharge.