Ask a Lawyer - Archive

My husband and I filed bankruptcy over a year ago and all the Chapter 13 payment comes out of my paycheck. We are now getting a divorce. Will we be able to equally split the bankruptcy payments between the two of us?

Your bankruptcy plan undoubtedly calls for payment of a fixed sum of money each month. Some jurisdictions require that payments be made by wage order; others permit direct payment by the debtors.

The bankruptcy trustee does not care which of you makes the payment or how you share it between you, so long as the full payment gets made each month. Neither the court nor the trustee recognize "my half", "your half" of the payment. Failure to make the payment in full may lead to dismissal of the case or conversion to Chapter 7.

If you are unable to agree between yourselves on how the payment will be made going forward, you can consider splitting your bankruptcy case into two separate Chapter 13 cases. That's called "deconsolidation" or "bifurcation". In that way, each of you would be solely responsible for the payments in your own case, and not dependent on each other for the success of your case.

Your bankruptcy lawyer can help you with your options.