• Home
  • Bankruptcy in Brief
  • ABC’s of Bankruptcy
  • Considering Bankruptcy
  • True Stories
  • Chapter 13
  • Blog
  • About
  • TOC

Northern California Bankruptcy Lawyer

On The Bankruptcy Soapbox

The Soap Box
  • How bankruptcy works
  • Mortgage Matters
  • Consumer Rights
  • You & Your Lawyer
  • Small Business
  • Family Law

Bankruptcy Alphabet: N Is For Nondischargeable

By Cathy Moran

N is for nondischargeble in the bankruptcy alphabet

 

The letter N, in my Bankruptcy Alphabet, stands for Nondischargeable.  These are the debts that simply don’t go away, even when you get a bankruptcy discharge.

Family support heads the list of nondischargeable debts, at least figuratively.  Whether it’s called child support, alimony, maintenance, or a domestic support obligation, the debtor’s obligation to pay on court ordered support survives bankruptcy.  That’s the case in every chapter of the Bankruptcy Code.

There’s a different rule about other financial obligations that are created in a divorce.  These debts might be equalizing payments for a division of property or an obligation to indemnify your ex from debts to others you are expected to pay.  Those obligations are nondischargeable in Chapter 7, but dischargeable in Chapter 13.

Famously, student loans are nondischargeable in bankruptcy, unless you bring an adversary proceeding in the bankruptcy and prove that repayment of the student loan imposes an “undue hardship” on you and your dependents.

Some taxes are nondischargeable: recent income taxes and the trust fund portion of payroll taxes.

Then, there is a group of debts that may survive bankruptcy if the creditor files a non dischargeability action in the bankruptcy and proves that the debt is the result of some listed kinds of “bad behavior” on the debtor’s part:

  • fraud,
  • misrepresentation,
  • conversion, embezzlement,
  • breach of fiduciary duty, and
  • intentionally inflicted harm

If the creditor can prove that the debt was created by any of these kinds of conduct on the debtor’s part, the debt will survive a discharge in any chapter.

Credit card usage provokes the most nondischargeability litigation. The lender typically claims that the debtor used the card without the intention to repay the charges. Courts vary on how much real evidence the creditor has to offer to prove his contention. That’s why I ask each client about their recent credit card usage; I want to assess whether the credit card company is likely to challenge the discharge of the debt.

The rest of the non dischargeable debts are found in Section 523.

So there you have nondischargeable, brought to you by the letter N.

My friend and bankruptcy attorney Jay Fleischman thinks N is for Naked.  He certainly looks at bankruptcy differently.

Image courtesy of takomabibelot.

 

More from the Soapbox

  • Bankruptcy Alphabet: O Is For OmittedBankruptcy Alphabet: O Is For Omitted
  • Bankruptcy Alphabet:  P is for PriorityBankruptcy Alphabet: P is for Priority
  • Bankruptcy Alphabet:  Q is for QuestionsBankruptcy Alphabet: Q is for Questions
  • Bankruptcy Alphabet: R is for RetirementBankruptcy Alphabet: R is for Retirement
  • Bankruptcy Alphabet:  S is for StripBankruptcy Alphabet: S is for Strip

Filed Under: ABC's of bankruptcy

About Cathy Moran

I'm a veteran bankruptcy lawyer and consumer advocate in California's Silicon Valley. I write, teach, and speak in the hopes of expanding understanding of how bankruptcy can make life better in a family's future.

Trackbacks

  1. Bankruptcy Alphabet From A – Z — JC Law Group says:
    December 15, 2011 at 10:48 pm

    […] Nondischargeable Nondischargeable […]

  2. Bankruptcy A-Z: N is for “No Asset Case” | Metro Richmond Consumer, Bankruptcy and Small Business Lawyer | Goldstein Law Group says:
    January 5, 2012 at 8:19 pm

    […] is for Nondischargeable Debt or Nondischargeable. N is for Naked. N is for Notice . Photo Credit: Steve […]

  3. N is for No Asset Report | BankruptcyHI.com says:
    January 13, 2012 at 9:53 pm

    […] Nebraska Bankruptcy Attorney, Ryan D. Caldwell Naked-New York Bankruptcy Lawyer, Jay S. Fleischman Nondischargeable-Northern California Bankruptcy Lawyer, Cathy Moran Notice Colorado Springs Bankruptcy Attorney Bob Doig No Asset-Metro Richmond Consumer and […]

  4. Negative Impact of Bankruptcy on Credit and How to Overcome it. « Christopher Carr, Esq. on Debt Relief says:
    July 12, 2012 at 12:24 am

    […] Nondischargeable Northern California Bankruptcy Lawyer, Cathy Moran http://www.bankruptcysoapbox.com/bankruptcy-alphabet-n-for-nondischargeable/ Nondischargeable Debt Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska Bankruptcy Attorney, Ryan D. […]

Bankruptcy Basics

About The Soapbox

You’ve arrived at the Bankruptcy Soapbox, a resource of bankruptcy information and consumer law.

Soapbox is a companion site to Bankruptcy in Brief, where I try to be largely explanatory and even handed (Note I said “try”).

Here, I allow myself to tell stories and express strong opinions. We dig deeper into how to consider bankruptcy and navigate a bankruptcy case.

Moran Law Group
Bankruptcy specialists for individuals and small businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area

How Bankruptcy Works

What Happens To Your Bank Account in Chapter 13

Those considering filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy worry about "what happens to my bank account?" Will the trustee take all the money? How do I pay my living expenses after I file? The short answer is: nothing changes. The account remains yours and available for all the expenses of day to day living. Because, … Read more

More Posts from this Category

643 Bair Island Road
Suite 403
Redwood City, CA 94063
Phone: (650) 694-4700
Phone: (650) 368-4700

Categories

All content copyright © Moran Law Group. All rights reserved.