Child Support and Bankruptcy

by St. Louis bankruptcy attorney Tobias Licker

Financial stress is something that many people are forced to deal with at some point in their lives. While bankruptcy may be the only option for someone whose debt has gotten out of control, it does not ever serve to discharge past or current child support obligations.

Additionally, any sums unpaid that result from “the nature of support” are also ineligible for discharge. Items deemed “in the nature of support” are any and all debts resulting from your child’s care such as educational or medical bills.

As the parent receiving child support, this is good news. It can also be good news for the parent paying the child support.

If you have been unable to make your child support payments due to all of the other debt payments demanded of you, bankruptcy may provide a viable way for you to eliminate some or all of your other debt so that you can make your child support payments.

By filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, if you fit the criteria, you may discharge some or all of those other debts. By filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition, you may eliminate all of your unsecured debts and lower your secured payments, such as car payments or other installment payments on home furniture or electronics. In both cases you would be freeing your income to pay your child support.

Child support obligations receive top priority in a Chapter 7 asset case. If there are assets available to pay creditors, any funds from the sale of assets will go to pay the child support arrears first. The debtor should make sure that a proof of claim is filed so that the first proceeds are used to pay off the child support obligation. If the person who receives child support does not file a claim, the trustee will pay only to the creditors who actually filed a claim. Your bankruptcy attorney would need to monitor the claims and might have to file on behalf of the person who receives child support.