Bankruptcy during divorce, money and financial issues are the top cause of arguments between spouses. According to a 2018 survey that was conducted by Ramsey Solutions. Financial stress is also the second leading cause of divorce after infidelity. These statistics show that there is little wonder that many couples who plan to divorce in Arizona may also be in financial situations that necessitate filing for bankruptcy.
If you want to file for divorce and also want to file for bankruptcy, the timing is important. When you are trying to figure out whether to file before your divorce or legal separation, at the same time as you are divorcing, or following your divorce, there are several things that the experienced attorneys at Cantor Law Group thing that you should consider.
Filing for Bankruptcy Before Your Divorce: Pros and Cons
There are several ways that filing for bankruptcy before your divorce can benefit you. If you file for bankruptcy first, you and your spouse will only have to pay one filing fee and can share the legal fees of your bankruptcy attorney. Filing for bankruptcy first can also make the property division portion of your divorce case simpler. In a normal divorce, or divorce with children the court will divide both the assets and the debts. If you and your spouse secure a discharge of your unsecured debts, neither one of you will have to pay them after you receive the discharge. This means that the court will not need to divide them.
It is also important to note that if a judge orders your spouse to pay a debt that you share, the court’s order will not impact the creditor. Since the creditor is not a party to your divorce, it can go after either you or your spouse to collect payment. If you do not obtain a discharge of a debt through bankruptcy, the creditor can seek to collect what is owed regardless of the family court’s orders. If it is discharged in a bankruptcy that you and your spouse file before you file for divorce, the creditor may not engage in any further collection activities for that debt against either you or your spouse.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy
Filing for bankruptcy before your divorce also has a few disadvantages. If you plan to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy instead of for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it may be a better idea for you to wait to file your bankruptcy case until after your divorce is finalized. This is because of the differences between these two types of bankruptcy.