Bankruptcy Law/bancrupcy

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Expert: - 4/25/2009


Question
QUESTION: After being denied a child support reduction petition in family court, in New York, a family court judge orded me to pay my ex wife of 6 years attorney's fees. If I file bancrupcy, are these fees dischargable? What about back child support?

ANSWER: I will be happy to answer this question but first wanted to ask your permission to change this to a public posting, as it is a frequently asked question and the answer would benefit other readers.  Please let me know if that is OK, and I will then post the answer either way.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: After being denied a child support reduction petition in family court, in New York, a family court judge orded me to pay my ex wife of 6 years attorney's fees. If I file bancrupcy, are these fees dischargable? What about back child support?


Answer
Child support is never dischargeable in any bankruptcy case.  As for the attorney's fees, they may be dischargeable in a Chapter 13 case only depending on whether the court awarded them as part of maintenance or support, or for something else.   For more information on this, please visit my blog article at

http://bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/2009/04/attorneys-fees-in-divorce/  

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Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney

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Mark J. Markus is a Los Angeles bankruptcy attorney who has practiced exclusively bankruptcy law in California since 1991 and is rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau and is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell. He represents debtors, creditors, and Trustees in Chapter 7, Chapter 11, and Chapter 13 of the bankruptcy code throughout California.

Experience

Visit our California bankruptcy webpage at http://www.bklaw.com for more information on bankruptcy in general and Mark J. Markus in particular. Many questions are answered on the web page (hint, hint).
The Markus webpage also contains more information on

  • Which Chapter to File,
  • business bankruptcy,
  • chapter 7 bankruptcy,
  • chapter 11 bankruptcy,
  • chapter 13 bankruptcy,
  • Do You Need a Lawyer to File Bankruptcy?
  • Frequently Asked Bankruptcy Questions

    Also visit our Los Angeles bankruptcy blog for interesting articles and much more.



    Organizations
    Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Association (CDCBAA) Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) Commercial Law & Bankruptcy Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Financial Lawyers Conference (FLC) National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) Los Angeles Bankruptcy Forum (LABF) American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) San Fernando Valley Bar Association (SFVBA)

    Publications
    Central District Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Association Newsletter September 2007 (Vol. 1, Issue 2)

    Education/Credentials
    J.D., University of Arizona 1990. B.A. Economics, California State University, Northridge 1986. For more details please click here

    Awards and Honors
    AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell (http://www.martindale.com) A+ Rated by Better Business Bureau

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