Home > Research Legal Advice > Debt Collection > Can I include a court judgement against me in a bankruptcy?
Asked 11 months ago - Grand Junction, CO
Flagmy ex-wife sued me for contempt of court when I could no longer afford making her house payment. The court found me in contempt for the house payments totaling $18,000.00, the judge (whom she once worked with and refused to recues himself) arbitrarily added punitive damages of $22,000.00 all payable to her. I have no way of earning that kind of money in the time frame. With the house being foreclosed on and now the $40,000.00 in a judgment, I have no choice but bankruptcy. Can I include this judgment in my bankruptcy when I file?
In a Chapter 7, the family court judgment will not be dischargable. In a Chapter 13 it probably will be. The punitive damages are NOT equivalent to a non-dischargable fine as they are not owed to a governmental entity.
You should sit down with an experienced bankruptcy attorney and discuss your case in full. This is not a situation that you want to tackle by yourself.
Probably not. First, the "punative damages" would be most likely non-dischargable since they are a "punishment" akin to a court fine. The other amount, the $18k, would probably be considered spousal mainteance-like in nature and rendered non-dischargable in bankruptcy. You certainly could file a Chap. 13, but then you'd have to make sure all this was repaid 100% within the time frame of the payment plan.
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