Creditor comes out of woodwork at the end of our plan

[woeisme]

So here's the situation, when we were filing CH 13 back in 2007 got all 3 copies of our credit reports so as not to miss any creditors. One did fall off the radar, a medical bill that we didn't receive until after we filed, but we paid a $26 fee and had the creditor added to the matrix. Hub thought he might still owe a court fee for his divorce in the early 90's, but we went to the courthouse and had them run a records search and they said he didn't owe anything.

Fast-forward 5+ years, and we get a letter from the State Attorney General saying he owes $371 for a fee + interest back from his divorce 20+ years ago! And that if we don't pay, they will garnish our state tax returns, etc. Besides it being way past the statute of limitations in our state which is 10 years, it would have been included in the CH 13 if they had told us about it when we ran the record check in 2007, and we are still in an active CH 13 and this is a pre-petition debt, so it also violates our stay (although granted, they didn't know that but since it's from the state and we filed in state BK court, you'd think they could cross-check their own records).

Any advice? We haven't talked to our lawyer in years, figuring they'll charge us almost as much to take care of it as we owe the state so not sure that's worth our time, so looking for advice on how to respond to them ourselves at the moment. Thanks in advance!

[justbroke]

I would contact the AG's office and inform them that you are in an active Chapter 13 bankruptcy and offer to serve them the Notice of Bankruptcy. Instruct them to file a claim if they want any distribution. You should update your Schedule F (General Unsecured Claims) to include them. Remember, Chapter 13s are asset cases and the State needs to be listed.

[spidge]

I would contact the AG's office and inform them that you are in an active Chapter 13 bankruptcy and offer to serve them the Notice of Bankruptcy. Instruct them to file a claim if they want any distribution. You should update your Schedule F (General Unsecured Claims) to include them. Remember, Chapter 13s are asset cases and the State needs to be listed.

...and hopefully the trustee tells them where to stick it. Not likely but I will hope for you.

[justbroke]

Chapter 13 Trustees really don't care about this stuff. It is really up to the Debtor themselves, or by or through their attorney, to deal with stay violations.