The best magazine
- If a credit card company or similar lender sued you and won a judgment, bankruptcy will satisfy this judgment and you won't have to pay it, notes the book "How to File for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy." If a civil court case is pending against you for such debts at the time you file bankruptcy, the proceedings will be halted. Creditors can't legally pursue judgments against you or garnish your wages once you file bankruptcy.
- Court-ordered judgments regarding child support and alimony obligations cannot be eliminated or reduced in your case. Even the debtor's case hasn't advanced to a delinquent level in the family court system, he still cannot use the bankruptcy as a way to reduce or eliminate familial support obligations. Some bankruptcy courts will not accept petitions from debtors who still owe outstanding child support. Also, many states will arrest or revoke driving privileges for people who do not pay their child support as promised.
- If you hurt someone in a drunk driving accident or committed another type of crime against him, bankruptcy doesn't eliminate any resulting court-ordered judgments. You must repay these as promised. The same rule applies to court fines and other types of court-ordered restitution.
- If you don't pay your state, local or federal taxes as promised, the taxation body can obtain a tax lien against you. This is similar to a court-ordered judgment. Bankruptcy will only cure these obligations if the original tax bills were incurred at least three years ago. If you owe taxes from less than three years ago and a tax lien has not yet been entered, you still must repay these obligations regardless of your bankruptcy status. If you didn't file your last four owed tax returns, you can't legally file bankruptcy.
Consumer Judgments
About Familial Support Obligations
Court Fines and Restitution
About Tax Liens
Source: ...