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Bankruptcy Law/ex is filing for bankruptcy but he owes back taxes for us

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Expert: - 3/27/2009


Question
My ex-husband of 7 years is filing for bankruptcy next week.  He has been paying on back taxes that we filed together.  Our divorce decree says he is responsible for the debt, but I've already been told by the IRS that they are the FEDS, they don't care what our little civil courts say.  Is this true?  Can they come after me for that money or were they just trying to intimidate me?

Answer

Leon Bayer
The Feds are certainly trying to intimidate you, but they also happen to be right. The divorce agreement is a contract between you and your ex. The agreement is not binding on third parties, like the IRS, because they never consented to it.

If I owe money to you, I can make a contract with someone else to pay you on my behalf. If that person fails to pay you, I can sue that person to make them honor the contract. However, the agreement does not remove my original liability to pay you, because you never consented to release me. You always retained your original rights to collect from me, because you never gave them up.

You have the right to seek enforcement of the agreement if he breaches it. In fact, the bankruptcy law actually says that obligations arising from a divorce settlement are not dischargeable in bankruptcy, so if he stops paying you are entitled to bring proceedings against him to force compliance.

Hopefully he will do what is right, and continue to pay it.

Another alternative is to determine if the taxes are dischargeable in bankruptcy. Please see my article on discharging taxes in bankruptcy, at http://www.debt-relief-bankruptcy.com/faq-browse11-14/bankruptcy-guide.asp

Maybe it makes sense for both of you to get advice about each of you filing bankruptcy if there is a lot of debt to discharge. I hope things work out OK for you.  

Los Angeles Bankruptcy Lawyer Leon D. Bayer

Expertise

Leon Bayer has successfully represented clients in bankruptcy for over 30 years. He is frequently called upon by the media, the California Bar and other associations to provide insight and help educate attorneys on bankruptcy issues. If you or other readers want to keep up with my blog postings about life in and out of bankruptcy, you can follow my blog at http://www.bankruptcyblogger.org/ and my personal web site at http://www.debt-relief-bankruptcy.com and A Human Guide to Bankruptcy at http://www.thebankruptcyguide.net/ Leon also writes about bankruptcy law for Nolo, see http://www.nolo.com/law-authors/leon-bayer.html and his "Ask Leon" bankruptcy law blog column at http://blog.nolo.com/bankruptcy/

Experience

Leon is a Certified Specialist in Bankruptcy Law by the State Bar of California, and has been a practicing bankruptcy lawyer in Los Angeles, California for 33 years.

Organizations
National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Lawyers, California Bar Association, Los Angeles County Bar Association.

Publications
Author, ?The Essentials Of Chapter 13,? Daily Journal Report, December 18, 1987.
Contributing Editor, Basic Bankruptcy, California Practice Handbook, Matthew Bender 1992, 1993.
CEB Consultant, CEB-Personal and Small Business Bankruptcy Practice in California, 2003.


Education/Credentials
B.A., J.D.

Awards and Honors
President, 1995-1996-Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum; Member - Los Angeles County Bar Association Committee on Commercial Law & Bankruptcy, 1988. Law Advisory
Commission-Personal & Small Business Bankruptcy Law of the State Bar of California, 1996-2000

MR. BAYER SAYS: The big banks and credit card companys have been working overtime for many years to undermine the Consitutional right of the American people to be able to claim bankruptcy protection. In 2005 the banking lobby successfully convinced Congress and the President to make the laws and proceedures more complicated, hopeing that it will stymie legitimate people from filing bankruptcy. They succeeded in gaining these complex new legal proceedures by greasing the legislative system with hundreds of millions of dollars in "campaign contributions." The good news for the American people is that while the new laws have made the proceedures needlessly complex to the point where inexperienced people can't help but trip over the maze of new rules and regulations, the process is still doable, especially with a lawyer who is well trained and experienced in this specialty.

Past/Present Clients
I have probably handled something on the order of about 15,000 bankruptcy cases thropughout my career.

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