Question Timing of BK and divorce

[ronaldtc]

Does anyone have any advice on the timing of a divorce relative to filing for bankruptcy?

I am filing for bankruptcy alone, not with my wife.

Thanks!

[Dirk Squarejaw]

It would be best to file before, however it can hold up your divorce. The problem is that after your divorce, there can be complications with your divorce decree and how debts are divided. From what I understand, many divorce lawyers now include language stating what happens in the case of bankruptcy. Even if there isn't, you must list all of your debts that you have and your ex-spouse may be able to take you back to court for contempt if you discharge a debt and stick it to them. In the end, it may be best to get a complete discharge without the chance of your ex suing you even if it holds up your divorce a little bit.

[keepmine]

Depends on if there are assets to be divided plus, the timing. One of the 3 situations where assets may be seized as part of the bk estate is, assets from a divorce that occured within 180 days of your bk filing.

[magyar123]

I would get the divorce first, just to see what debts I get stuck with in a divorce. And also remember - as long as you are still officially married the means test calculation would have to include your partner's pay, and possibly put you over your state's median income level.

[AngelinaCat]

It probably depends on what type of state you're in also, community property, joint tenancy, or whatever.

[southernbelle]

Does anyone have any advice on the timing of a divorce relative to filing for bankruptcy?

I am filing for bankruptcy alone, not with my wife.

Thanks!

It depends on your situation. I my situation, we didn't have any kids or joint assets to divide, so the divorce part was pretty straight forward (I live in a community property state). We weren't living together and if I would have filed for bk, I would have had to list his income for the Means Test simply because we were still married and I had no intentions of doing that.

Also, he would have challenged the divorce or tied me up in court based on the fact that he wants to live his new life without taking any responsiblity for the business he helped ruin and because he had animosity toward me because I basically put an end to his free ride. In fact he told me he was going to make my life miserable and wanted to take the valuable business assets when the business closed, leaving me holding the bag. I couldn't get the divorce fast enough.

Now that we are divorced, I listed him as a creditor and filed alone. Don't get me wrong, the idea wasn't to stick him with debt, as my husband helping me in the business, he stole money, didn't pay creditors (especially taxes) and helped to flush a highly lucrative business down the toilet, so you have to understand the reason why I don't have any sympathy for my ex.

It might be better to finalize the divorce prior to filing for bankruptcy because if there are debts that need to be divided in your divorce, you can list them in your bankruptcy if needed.

That's just my personal opinion and it worked for me. Good luck.

[needafreshstart]

I was told by a bk attorney, to do a bankruptcy first, although it will hold up your divorce. It really depends on if your spouse is really against bankruptcy, do you know how she feels about it. What I was told is if you get assigned a joint debt in the divorce decree and there is any language in there that assignment of debt is spousal support or in place of spousal support, then that debt may not be discharged in bk. Or you may get it discharged, but then the divorce court could order you to pay spousal support in the amount of payments your spouse had to take on after your bk. I would highly recommend talking to experienced bk and divorce attornies in your area to see what they.