Judgement

[lmg]

My husband and I filed for chapter 7 on March 7. In there we included state taxes that my husband owes that we know are not dischargeable. Yesterday he received a letter that a judgement has been placed against him. They were notified about the bankruptcy - what does this mean, can they legally do this after the bankruptcy has been filed?

[phoenyx]

What's the judgment for? Not specifically, but generally who is it from? (What type of creditor)

[lmg]

It's from the state of new jersey, taxes were paid but late so the judgement is for the late fees which we included in the bankruptcy petition.

[phoenyx]

Make sure to let your attorney know right away that this happened.

I was under the impression that after your bankruptcy was filed until when it was discharged that taxing authorities were more or less frozen from doing anything, and that they had to wait until after the discharge to continue their activities. I might be wrong on this, your attorney will know best.

That being said, once they are allowed to continue their activities, they can persue collection (including filing liens or pursuing judgments) for non-dischargeable items.

If the taxes owed are not dischargeable, the late penalties associated with them wouldn't be dischargeable either.

So, unless the State was allowed to proceed this quickly or obtained an exemption from your stay, you might be able to get this judgment vacated -- but after your discharge occurs, they would likely have it re-instated. Again, your attorney will best be able to say what recourse you have, if any.