An Overview Of Bankruptcy Discharge Objections
The great thing about bankruptcy is that many of your financial debts will be discharged by a judge once the process is over. Unfortunately, there are people out there that may disagree with this decision, especially the people that you owe money to. You should be prepared for the possibility of a creditor or third party objecting to a debt discharge. Here is an overview about what this is about.
What Is A Discharge Objection
When filing the initial petition for bankruptcy, you will need to list all debts that you wish to have discharged. By listing those debts, the creditor will be notified. This helps to alert the creditor, since they are no longer allowed to contact you about collecting the debt during the bankruptcy process. It also gives them an opportunity to review the debt and object to it if they feel it is a viable claim.
Creditors can select what debts they want to object to, since it does not necessarily need to be all of the debts you have with them.
Why A Discharged Debt Can Be Objected To
A creditor could object to a discharge for practically any reason. If they do, the debt will be looked into further. For example, if the creditor feels that you took on the debt with full knowledge that you wouldn't be paying it back due to your bankruptcy filing, you could be responsible for repaying it.
There are also debts that are considered a priority, such as debts related to child support, alimony, or court costs. By the nature of these debts being what they are, they cannot be discharged and an objection would require that they be paid.
Who Can Object To A Discharge
It's common that creditors will object to discharged debts, but there are other people that can also make objections. One of those is the trustee that has been assigned to your bankruptcy case. They may do this if they feel that fraud is occurring, and they can object to all debts being discharged. A US Trustee can also object to your bankruptcy, typically because they find that a bankruptcy law is being broken. They might discover that you used bankruptcy within the past 8 years, and your entire filing could be denied.
When filing for bankruptcy, you want to make sure you are taking all the right steps for the proceedings to go smoothly. That's why it is best to work with a bankruptcy lawyer from the start of the proceedings. By having a legal expert review your filing, you'll avoid discharge objections that can slow the process down.
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