How can I be removed as a co-debtor

[exhubsucks]

My Ex-Husband is filing for Chapter 7. I have a Property Settlement agreement from 5 years ago stating I would be indemnified from two of the debts that he is asking to be discharged.
I went to the creditors meeting so that I could give the trustee a copy of the Property Settlement and a Copy of the Contempt Charge I previously filed against him for failure to remove me from those accounts.
Is there something I need to file with the Bankruptcy Court asking to be removed as a Co-Debtor on the accounts?
These debts have already hurt my credit but having them be tagged with the work "Bankruptcy" on my credit report scares me.
P.s. One of these debts is a non-dis-chargeable student loan. Since he filed Bankruptcy he hasn't made any payments and it's gone to "Charge Off". Therefore there is already serious damage done to my credit, but I do not want the word "Bankruptcy" anywhere on my credit report.
Any help would be appreciated.

[SMinGA]

The divorce/settlement is a civil matter between you & him. My understanding is that his obligation to you cannot be discharged. Only way to get you off the original loan however is if the lender agrees - and they are not likely to agree.

[exhubsucks]

I filed the Contempt charge in Family court because I can't be removed from the loans until he re-finances the debts.

Is there any way to ask the Bankruptcy Court to remove me from being listed as a Co-Debtor in Section H?

[SMinGA]

Probably not. Legally you ARE a codebtor and being listed there is to protect you. Had he not listed you, you would not have found out about the bankruptcy in a timely manner.

You still owe the debts: from the eyes of the lenders. Legally, they can go after you. They do not have to refinance him to get you off the accounts, and with his current standing he is probably not able to qualify for credit to refinance them elsewhere. You may need to file a lawsuit against him, get a judgment, and take steps to garnish his wages to pay them off.

I filed the Contempt charge in Family court because I can't be removed from the loans until he re-finances the debts.

Is there any way to ask the Bankruptcy Court to remove me from being listed as a Co-Debtor in Section H?

[exhubsucks]

How is being listed as a Co-debtor ment to protect me?
It seems as soon as he filed for Bankruptcy the creditors turned their eyes on me and began calling me 6 times a day. And as I said, because he stoped paying, Well's Fargo sent it to "Charge off".
Was being listed as a co-debtor ment to add me and the account to the Automatic Stay?
Thanks!

[SMinGA]

You are a co-debtor regardless of being listed in the petition. You're a co-debtor because you are on the accounts. Being listed means you got notice of the bankruptcy, rather than a surprise down the road when they contact you for payment.

How is being listed as a Co-debtor ment to protect me?
It seems as soon as he filed for Bankruptcy the creditors turned their eyes on me and began calling me 6 times a day. And as I said, because he stoped paying, Well's Fargo sent it to "Charge off".
Was being listed as a co-debtor ment to add me and the account to the Automatic Stay?
Thanks!

[starr4law]

This is a difficult situation and not that uncommon. As far as him listing you in the bky, he had no choice. Can you get it removed? No (at least not in my opinion). The student loans are non-dischargable anyways, so he is still on the hook for those (although that isn't going to stop them from calling you). You can try forwarding the court paperwork (determination that you are not liable due to divorce decree, contempt paperwork, etc) to the creditors, but it is unlikely to help (but you never know). Like SMinGA said, you need to get a judgment against him and then garnish his wages and use the funds to pay back any co-debt. You could potentially also object to the dischargability of those specific debts (excluding the student loan debt since that is non-dischargable anyways) through the bankruptcy court directly. That would mean that those debts are not discharged to him at all and he will still be responsible for them (I have seen this done before and it works). In a divorce, the assumption of debts can be treated like a martial obligation which is non-dischargable in bankruptcy. Your success will largely depend on the wording in your divorce decree. Using a lawyer in this process is advisable, which sucks that you have to spend money to not spend money

In the meantime, consider changing your phone number and remember that the same rules regarding collection of a debt apply to you. What doesn't apply to you is the automatic stay in your ex's bankruptcy.

Good luck.

[exhubsucks]

My ex husband has hired an attourney who is claiming I am violating the stay by not withdrawing my contempt charge, even though it is the judge that has continued it and is aware of the bankruptcy petition.
My argument to have the case proceed is that the stay does not apply to me ecause I am not a creditor, and am not asking for any money only indemnification. As well as 11 USC 362(b) proided exceptions for domestic obligations.
I'm doing this contempt charge pro se.... Am I way off base?

[Bell30656]

Here is the really bad news... If he gets discharged (on the one debt that is dischargeable) guess who now owes the whole debt? Your contempt charge is going to go no where. Sorry, not to sugarcoat it but that is the facts of life.

No finance company is going to agree to remove you from the responsibility of the debt particularly now that he's filed bankruptcy. There is no chance that he will get refinanced as who would loan him money now? And most importantly... You can only be found in contempt for something that you can do but are unwilling to do. If he is unable to do it no judge can compel him to do it.

When you agreed to be a co-debtor on these debts you were taking a chance that this could happen. Right now you can do nothing. If you file suit against him right now he will amend his petition to include his debt to you thus getting it discharged.

Wait until after he is discharged then consult with an attorney about suing him to recovery any amounts that you have to pay.

[starr4law]

I respectfully disagree with Bell30656. I don't think that you should wait since I don't think he can amend his petition to include you. However, I think that you do need to not worry about the contempt and file an objection to dischargability of those debt (before time runs out) based on marital obligation. Once the court confirms that the debts are non-dischargable in his bankruptcy, THEN you go and to the contempt thing and the wage garnishment.

Just my two cents of course . . .

[helpmeout]

My ex husband has hired an attourney who is claiming I am violating the stay by not withdrawing my contempt charge, even though it is the judge that has continued it and is aware of the bankruptcy petition.
My argument to have the case proceed is that the stay does not apply to me ecause I am not a creditor, and am not asking for any money only indemnification. As well as 11 USC 362(b) proided exceptions for domestic obligations.
I'm doing this contempt charge pro se.... Am I way off base?

Get an attorney. And when you refile your contempt motion (you may have to refile) ask that he pays your legal fees. Any debt that he incurs after the date of filing cannot be discharged for 8 years.

BTW, indemnification means that he has to hold you harmless. Which means he is going to have to pay money for any of the debt that you have to pay. Which is why his attorney is fighting to have your contempt motion dismissed.

[helpmeout]

Here is the really bad news... If he gets discharged (on the one debt that is dischargeable) guess who now owes the whole debt? Your contempt charge is going to go no where. Sorry, not to sugarcoat it but that is the facts of life.

I disagree. While they will come after her, a family court judge will order him to pay her what she pays them. It's in their court order that he is to hold her harmless in case he files bankruptcy. The only way he can do that is to reimburse her any debt that she has to pay that he was supposed to. It's in my court order. Fortunately, I got my ex's name off of all joint debt before I filed. If I hadn't, it would have been discharged. But then the family court would have ordered me to pay for it anyway.

She will win the contempt motion. It's just a question of when it will take place.

[Bell30656]

She may still be able to make him pay after the bankruptcy by suing him but contempt? How? The guy CAN'T get her name off the debt not WON'T. A judge cannot make you do something that you are not in control of. All he has to do to beat the contempt is prove he can't refinance the debt or that the lenders won't allow him to remove her name.

What about this scenario? If the bankruptcy has not been discharged the debtor can get that bankruptcy filing dismissed then refile this time including the debt that the lawsuit alleges. Think about it from the other side and back into this. How would you handle it if you were him?

Once the bankruptcy is discharged then she files a civil action and he can do nothing but attempt to defend it in the civil court. Sure, it may be difficult to collect but now you are working to collect a judgment and there are tools at your disposal to work toward that collection.

[helpmeout]

She may still be able to make him pay after the bankruptcy by suing him but contempt? How? The guy CAN'T get her name off the debt not WON'T. A judge cannot make you do something that you are not in control of. All he has to do to beat the contempt is prove he can't refinance the debt or that the lenders won't allow him to remove her name.

What about this scenario? If the bankruptcy has not been discharged the debtor can get that bankruptcy filing dismissed then refile this time including the debt that the lawsuit alleges. Think about it from the other side and back into this. How would you handle it if you were him?

Once the bankruptcy is discharged then she files a civil action and he can do nothing but attempt to defend it in the civil court. Sure, it may be difficult to collect but now you are working to collect a judgment and there are tools at your disposal to work toward that collection.

How is he in contempt? Well, he didn't refinance her name off of the joint debt. That's contempt. Now, a judge may not be do anything but slap his wrist for that.

Another thing that he is in contempt for is, well, it's in the court order that he holds her harmless in the case of bankruptcy. And he's not doing that. If he were, he would let it be known that he's reaffirming the debt with her name on it. He's not doing that.

She has a clear cut contempt case, either way.

BTW, all debt is included in a Chapter banktuptcy, even if not listed. There are very few debts that can't be discharged. He will be able to get the debts discharged and the creditors can't come after him. But he can't get the court order that holds her harmless discharged in a banktruptcy court. And she can come after him. He's not going to be able to get that discharged.

And a family court (this is where the case would be heard, not a civil court)can order that his wages be garnished.

[Phil]

Regarding ..."How is he in contempt? Well, he didn't refinance her name off of the joint debt. That's contempt" - I respectfully disagree.

Contempt is a wilfull disregard of a court order. First of all, no where did the poster say their court orders required him to refinance to get her name off the debts.... Second, if he attempted and could not refinance (if it was even required) then his attempt at refinancing negates it being a wilfull disregard of a court order and it is now a financial impossibility for him to refinance and thus, it is not contempt.

Also, regarding "And a family court (this is where the case would be heard, not a civil court)can order that his wages be garnished. .." That is also not true. Family Court is not superior to Bankruptcy Court, Bankruptcy Court is a superior court and family court cannot ignore the court orders set in bankruptcy court. If he includes her in his petition, which he can certainly amend and do, if it is not child support or alimony, or he can demonstrate having to pay this debt causes him to not be afforded the protection provided by bankruptcy, ie, it is more detrimental to him to have to keep the debt, bankruptcy court can wipe out that debt. (not the student loan).

I am also not surprised her attorney is fighting to have the contempt hearing stayed....I will be surprised if Family Court proceeds with hearing that while he is in bankruptcy proceedings.