The Protection of “Domestic Support Obligations” under the New Bankruptcy code
Saturday, April 1st, 2006
What Family Lawyers Should Know
A local family lawyer called me in a panic last week because his client’s former spouse had filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition seeking to discharge the obligations owed to his client that he (the laywer) had so painstakingly documented in the parties’ property settlement agreement. While the situation was not as dire as he thought because bankruptcy laws protect and except alimony, child support and other family support obligations from a bankruptcy discharge, his call prompted me to write this article so that family lawyers will not be caught unaware.
By Amy N. Tirre