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Expert: - 6/27/2006


Question
My bankruptcy was discharged in 6/2005.  Per my divorce degree I'm supposed to pay my ex's student loans.  I thought I was covered by bankruptcy he has since filed a order of contempt against me.  There seems to be some question as to weather or not his debt was dischargable as typically student loans aren't.  The only thing though that obligates me to pay this is the property settlement, which I'm told is dischargable.  Also, I found out the I am listed as a co-borrower on his loans as he forged my name to a document that merged my student loans and his.  I didn't discover this till I filed the bankruptcy when I ran a credit report to make sure I listed all creditors.  Please HELP.  My attorney doesn't seem to be very knowledgeable.  In federal court yesterday we were told to file a discharge motion.

Answer
If your attorney seems unable to provide you with effective representation, then you better find another lawyer immediately. You would be well advised to have legal representation in the contempt proceedings, and discuss with your lawyer the fact that your property settlement obligation was probably discharged. Hopefully, you listed your "ex" as one of the creditors in your bankruptcy. The property settlement debt to your Ex should be dischargable, as far as that goes.

However, if you are in fact a co-borrower on the consolidation, then the debt to that lender might not be dischargable. Frankly, I have never heard of any lender that consolidates the student loans of two seperate individuals, and I would hope that your lawyer will look into that to determine if in fact that is what really happened here.

The allegation that your Ex forged your signature to the joint loan consolidation may require you to bring a lawsuit against your Ex and the loan creditor to obtain a court decision as to whether or not that loan is enforceable against you. That will likely be expensive to litigate and often difficult to prove. To prove that your signature was forged will usually require that you hire a well qualified handwriting expert to examine the questioned document, and then to testify that your signature on the consolidation loan was a forgery.

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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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