Bankruptcy/divorce

What is the name of your state? IA

I have just a simple question, when do you file for divorce, before or after filing BK-joint?

When I first sought legal advice on getting a divorce two years ago I presented my then - STBX and my bills, both separate and individual. My lawyer advised that we declare bankruptcy first. In a lot of states, I'm told, filing for bankruptcy puts a hold on divorce proceedings. My advice if you and your soon to be ex still have an fairly amicable relationship and your stbx is willing to file a joint bk petition, file bk first, then divorce. This way both of you will start off with relatively clean financial plates and you both will avoid the problems associated with one party files bk, then divorces, leaving the other party holding your joint financial bag.

Good luck to you.

Thank you cyana for replying to my post. We do have an amicable relationship, but I wanted to know what was the best route to go. Would you know how a divorce would affect a Chapter 13?

Sorry, I have no idea. Despite my first attorney's suggestion, my xh refused to file with me. So we divorced first, then filed separate chapter 7 bankruptcies. Perhaps someone with more knowledge of C13's can help you. Again, good luck.

I advise my clients to wait to file their BKs until AFTER the divorce. Why?

First, there may be some debts that are revealed in the process of the divorce that my client didn't know about.

Second, if my client is ordered to pay debts that he/she can't -- or ordered to pay the other side's attorney fees -- those can be included in the BK petition.

Sure, it might save a few dollars to file jointly because you're both not paying a filing fee for your own BKs, but that's only if it all goes well. Often, however, the spouse isn't cooperative in one way or another, fails to show for the meeting of creditors, whatever, so sometimes in the end it doesn't really help to file jointly as a cost savings plan, anyway.

Thank you for the good advice.

From my experience I would advise you to file bankruptcy after your divorce is final. Better yet do everything you can to avoid filing. It has been a nightmare. I had 14K in credit card debt and medical bills and since leaving my husband I could not afford to pay it. I was forced to file bankruptcy after he filed for divorce because I was going to have my wages garnished. My STBX was given the option to join the bankruptcy but declined. The trustee is selling him all the marital assets including a 34' yacht and retiremnet benfits which are supposed to be exempt. He is allowed to use his home that I have a community interest in to get a loan to pay off the creditors. The trustee does not care about the value of the assets which are well over $150K. I lost my job as a result of being supenaed by my husband for the 2004 exam. I have severe arthritis and am considerd disabled. Now I have no home, no job, no vehicle, & no assets. I thought I would be debt free but my STBX racked up 37K in credit card debts inspite of an injunction since he filed for divorce. I am responsible for half of that debt plus all the attorneys fees. There is no such thing as a fair divorce in bankruptcy court in the state of Idaho. I was told the assets would be divided in the bankruptcy court but instead they were all given to my STBX for a fraction of their value.