Expert: Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney - 1/29/2007

Question
What if there is a notice of asset case for which notice of deadline for filing proof of claim was sent to creditors, with the deadline being March 22nd, however, after receiving all of the paperwork fromthe debtor, the court discharges the debtor on January 22nd. Does this mean that the court has determined that it was afterall a no asset case? Can the debtor file a motion to add creditors? or are the creditors that were omitted automatically included (except for fraud challenge, etc.)? If a motion needs to be filed, what is the time frame for doing so?
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-----Question-----
If there was a chapter 7 bankruptcy discharged in 2004 and there were creditors mistakenly omitted from the list, can these creditors now be barred by adding them to the 2004 bankruptcy for good cause shown? I know that generally, you can add a creditor as long as time for filing a proof of claim has not expired, but what about after the bankruptcy has already been discharged? Are there any exceptions that may apply then?
-----Answer-----
If this was a no-asset case, most jurisdictions do not require you to add the creditors.  The discharge covers them regardless of whether they were originally listed, unless they have some basis to challenge the discharge, such as fraud.

Answer
That's an excellent question and I would have to research the case law on that to give you a definite answer, and that is really beyond the scope of this service.  You should consult with an attorney in the area where your case was filed.  You may need to file a motion to reopen the case and add the creditor, and I don't think there's a specific time frame for doing so.  But you should make sure first that you actually need to file such a motion.