Imagine this scenario: You represent a spouse in a divorce proceeding in which the couple has co-owned credit card debt. Your client never made a single purchase in connection with that credit card. After the divorce is finalized, the other spouse files for bankruptcy. Your client becomes the target for the credit card company to pursue for the full balance due on that credit card, and the separation agreement you drafted did not specifically account for this possibility. How could this situation have been avoided?
The current state of bankruptcy law dictates that virtually all debts owed to a former spouse awarded in the divorce are not dischargeable and still must be paid despite a bankruptcy filing. For example, domestic support obligations existing at the time of the bankruptcy filing, such as child support and alimony, or child support and alimony that are subject to establishment pursuant to a decree after the commencement of the bankruptcy case, are not dischargeable in a bankruptcy pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §523(a)(5).
