Expert: Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney - 11/12/2006

Question
Hello, I filed a ch7 No Asset Bankruptcy in Maryland that was discharged in Feb 06. I went through an agency that handles bankruptcy for this matter and am now feeling sick to my stomach about it. I listed on my paperwork close to 20 creditors and the agency types the forms for you, but when I got the official matrix from the court papers it only had 2 creditors! Obviously, I never would have filed BK for that amount of debt! I requested the filed typed papers and sure enough the left off everyone else. I feel like such an idiot and totally scammed. So my issue is now that I am trying to rebuild and straighten everything out, I have all these "floating" creditors that are continuing collections. I have been told that I should reopen my case, but there is no way they will accept it due to so many being overlooked. I am little in pieces over this, please let me know if you have any suggestions on what I can do to rectify this situation.

Answer
You should consult with a bankruptcy attorney in Maryland on this.  In most jurisdictions, in a no-asset Ch. 7 case you are still discharged from debts for creditors that you inadvertently failed to list.  If that's the case in Maryland, then you don't need to do anything except inform the offending creditors of the discharge.