Asked over 5 years ago - Yakima, WA
FlagI just had a consultation with a bankruptcy lawyer, and I'd like to get a second opinion, he doesn't seem very honest. I went through a divorce last year, I have a lot of debt in my name because of it, right now I am on disability, I can't pay the debt so I was going to go bankrupt, he suggested I wait 3 years at first, that way I could go bankrupt on my taxes (ex husband's business) as well. My ex husband is paying the taxes, and I'm not that concerned over them. I'm getting remarried in April and figured it would be a good idea to go bankrupt before I get married, he said that I could file now and get remarried before the bankruptcy is complete, but he also made it sound like it was technically illegal :/ So that was the first thing I wasn't sure about. The other thing is that my husband and I were buying a house before we got divorced, it was completely in his name, we didn't put anything about it in the divorce decree, will I need to go bankrupt on that as well? If so, I'm not sure how I'd do that since they never try to contact me about it, and legally I don't have access to the info on it, I asked the lawyer but he didn't give me a real answer. Thank you!!!!!
Any time that you are uncomfortable with a lawyer, it is wise to seek a second opinion, and to keep searching until you find a lawyer that you trust. The trick is to make sure you are not just shopping around for the answer you want to hear! That being said, there are multiple bankruptcy lawyers in Yakima, and you should try again. The facts you explain above are not complete enough to give legal advice over the internet, nor should you trust any lawyer who would give you legal advice without knowing more. I did not see anything in your explanation that looked "technically illegal" to me, but I don't know all the facts. I also don't know what you mean about "buying a house" -- had you already started making payments? Did you live in the house? Every legal relationship you have or transaction you are involved in usually has to be included in the bankruptcy somehow. Usually, a lawyer can help you obtain the necessary information. Keep looking until you find the help you need, and best of luck to you!
If you are not concerned about whether your tax debt is discharged, then waiting three years would no make a difference to you. The attorney suggested that because SOME IRS debt is dischargeable after three years (it is not dischargeable if it is something like Social Security/FICA taxes for employees, you don't specify what kind of tax debt it is, just that it is your ex's business' tax).
You can get remarried during bankruptcy. I do not know how that affects things in a community property state as my knowledge is limited to Illinois (and a little bit of Minnesota Bankruptcy law) and it is not a community property state. But the only issue I could think of is that it might somehow impact the bankruptcy estate (all the nonexempt property you own at the time that you file bankruptcy), but I do not think that it would change when you get married. I personally have had a client in a bankruptcy case that got married after filing and the trustee was, needless to say, surprised, but it didn't have an impact on the case. One thing that may concern the trustee if you get married right after filing is that you are trying to hide assets that were previously only in husband's name. If there is a concern of an appearance of impropriety, I am sure you can wait the six months until you get your discharge before getting married. But it is perfectly legal to get married during bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy code does not address it at all. it is just a matter of when you want to get married.
In regards to the house, if you are the owner (or one of the owners) and/or a debtor on the mortgage, yes you have to list it as both property (if you are an owner) and a secured debt. If there is any equity in it, the trustee will want to liquidate it. If you don't live in it, you cannot even claim a homestead exemption on it (however assuming the ex also is an owner, his interest would be protected to the extend of his homestead exemption). If there is no equity, the house should not be a major issue, but it is important to list it. If it has been sold since then, you will have to list the details of the sale in your bankruptcy, as the Trustee will want to make sure it was sold for fair market value and that you aren't trying to hide assets.
Don't speak legalese? We define thousands of terms in plain English.
Browse our legal dictionary