Expert: Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney - 3/27/2011

Question
I apologize in advance for the rambling; however, I want you to have complete info (and I'm agitated).

I was notified last night that my ex-husband has filed individual chapter 7 in Western District of Kentucky.  i received a letter notification of case, meeting, creditors and deadlines -- interesting also, that it was addressed to my previous married last name.  We never mixed finances, purchased anything in joint names/liability of any sort, etc...The only thing we share is our son.  We had agreed (he reluctantly), and it is stated in our final/filed divorce decree (12/7/2010)that we are equally responsible to pay any medical debts associated with my prenatal care, obstetrics, birth/delivery and any other medical bills accrued by/for our son from birth to date of final decree (our son is 21 months and has had many health issues).  ex husband states that he waited to "file after the divorce to protect me and that all the medical bills will go away" -- he made certain to confirm I would not be penalized, but would only benefit from his decision. LOL. yeah right, i made more $ than he until i lost my job one week ago. I think he was helping himself.

I do not believe that to be true (the med bills wiped out)-- especially with my name/signature of  responsibility at time of any doctor visit or even when admitting myself for the birth of our son in his absence. EX is insured responsible party for us thru his union -- i doubt that even matters but FYI. My gut says i will not only be responsible for my portion of the bills, but I'm certain 100% of it since he filed.  

Could you provide some insight?  I have been on medical LOA for the last year, my position was filled and I no longer am employed though healed and ready to go!go!go! and the loss coupled with this recent surprise has me extremely worried.  what are the repercussions of him filing in relation to our agreement to pay med bills 50/50?

I appreciate your time and any feedback you can give me.

Answer
You are essentially correct.  The divorce court order cannot change the obligations that either of you have to your third party creditors; it can only change what you owe to each other.  You have ALWAYS been responsible for the misc. medical bills (assuming Kentucky is a community debt state; you should really consult with a bankruptcy and/or family law attorney in Kentucky before taking any further action).   His bankruptcy merely relieves him of his obligation (assuming that he receives a discharge of debts) to pay on the medical debts.

However, the bankruptcy does NOT relieve him of his obligations to YOU.  If the debt he owes to you was incurred as part of the divorce or separation process, it is not dischargeable.  So you should be able to go back into family law court and get an order requiring him to pay you the amount he was supposed to pay on the medical, or possibly be held in contempt.   You should probably get permission from the bankruptcy court first if you want to do this while his case is still pending. (this is known as a Motion for Relief from the Automatic Stay).

Hope this helped.  Good luck.

Mark J. Markus, Attorney at Law
Handling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991.
http://www.bklaw.com/