Chapter 12 Hardship Discharge

A Chapter 12 hardship discharge may only be granted if the unsecured creditors have received at least as much as they would have received through a Chapter 7 liquidation and if modification of the plan is not feasible.

Bankruptcy During Divorce

Problems may result from the conflict of interests between domestic relations courts and bankruptcy courts when a couple files for bankruptcy during a divorce. The conflict arises because of the differing policies between the courts. Bankruptcy courts have a policy of providing a fresh start and distributing the debtors' assets equally among all of their creditors. Family courts have a policy of equitably dividing the property between the spouses.

Time and Necessity of Filing Proofs of Claims

A "claim" in bankruptcy is (1) a right to payment, whether or not reduced to judgment, liquidated, unliquidated, fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed, legal, equitable, secured or unsecured; or (2) a right to an equitable remedy for breach of performance if such breach gives rise to a right to payment, whether or not such right to an equitable remedy is reduced to judgment, fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed, legal, equitable, secured or unsecured.

Tax Claims

The treatment of tax debts in bankruptcy proceedings is an attempt to reconcile two conflicting policies. The first policy concerns the government's interest in collecting taxes. The second policy concerns the fresh start that bankruptcy is to give honest debtors. Under the Bankruptcy Code, a debtor's ability to discharge any tax debt is based upon the classification of that particular tax debt.

Dischargeable Debts

Dischargeable debts are those debts that can be discharged through bankruptcy proceedings. A debtor is no longer personally liable to pay for dischargeable debts after the bankruptcy proceedings are concluded.