Bankruptcy can be stressful, especially regarding child support. To Tampa parents who are financially struggling, how bankruptcy impacts child support is fundamental in making sound decisions. Despite the relief it offers for other debts, child support is an obligation that is not dischargeable through bankruptcy.
Understanding Non-Dischargeable Debt in Bankruptcy
When you file for bankruptcy, you usually intend to cancel or reorganize debt to achieve financial wellness once more. All debts are not equal under bankruptcy law and treatment. Non-dischargeable debts are obligations that bankruptcy processes cannot eliminate. Such debts include taxes, student loans, spousal support, and child support.
Child support is a priority debt in bankruptcy law. You must pay it in full regardless of what type of bankruptcy you are going through. Child support is treated as a requirement by the courts to ensure a child’s well-being and is, hence, not dischargeable. Payments for child support won’t be touched even if you wipe out other debts via bankruptcy.
How Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Affects Child Support
Chapter 7 bankruptcy allows for the liquidation of assets to pay off creditors. While the process can eliminate unsecured debt like credit card and medical debt, child support payments are not touched. Those debts will not be discharged if you owe back child support.
One benefit of Chapter 7 is that it can free up funds by eliminating unsecured debt, which could allow you to continue paying child support more efficiently. But enforcement action on child support — such as wage garnishment and tax refund seizure — can still go ahead even when you are bankrupt. If you have child support arrears, the court can still insist that you pay them even after completing the bankruptcy case.
How Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Impacts Child Support
Chapter 13 bankruptcy involves creating a repayment plan in which you pay off debts within three to five years. As opposed to Chapter 7, Chapter 13 offers the means to pay up on accumulated child support payments in the future. However, you must continue to make regular child support payments as you work out the repayment plan.
If you fall behind on a child support payment during the debt repayment period, it may risk your bankruptcy case. Courts may dismiss your case or allow creditors to start collecting again from you if you fall behind on child support payments. However, an ordered Chapter 13 plan can offer a structured means of paying off debt while continuing to make child support payments.
Noncompliance with child support payments can have serious legal consequences. Even during a bankruptcy case, courts can enforce orders for child support through wage garnishment, liens on property, and tax refund seizure. Parents who significantly fall behind on child support payments can even face legal penalties, including incarceration.
Child support enforcement agencies are independent of bankruptcy courts. This implies that bankruptcy will not halt or suspend child support enforcement proceedings. If your wages are garnished for unpaid child support, such garnishment will likely persist even after filing for bankruptcy.
Strategies for Managing Child Support and Bankruptcy
If you are considering bankruptcy and have child support debt, it is wise to plan. Start by determining how much you are behind and factor that into your financial picture. A call to the child support enforcement office in your jurisdiction may provide you with a means of changing your payment plan or agreeing on a repayment plan.
Filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy can structure the repayment of overdue child support without disrupting your current payment plan. Chapter 7 may discharge income once dedicated to unsecured debt, giving you more resources to maintain child support payments.
Moving Forward
Working through bankruptcy and managing child support is challenging, but knowing where these two legal areas overlap will help you make informed decisions. For parents in Tampa, seeking professional legal advice is usually the best approach to discovering how to move ahead. If you need guidance to navigate through child support obligations and bankruptcy, Weller Legal Group offers experienced legal services to ease you through the challenges.
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