What are my rights to keep debt from my ex spouse from being discharged? 16 Answers as of January 03, 2012

Only a bankruptcy judge can prevent debts from being discharged. For the Court to deny a discharge or dismiss a case it must be convinced that a) the debtor is not entitled to one for the reasons set out in the Bankruptcy Code, b) the debtor's debts are non-dischargeable in nature, or c) the debtor does not qualify under their chosen chapter of the Code. In the case of your ex-wife, consult an Attorney to find out what can be done.

I am not sure what debt you don't want discharged. But if you believe her paperwork is false, you can inform the trustee of her misrepresentations. The court could deny her discharge if she has made material misrepresentations.

There are several options. First, you should write a letter to the trustee and specifically point out the inaccuracies. Secondly, you should send this letter to the Office of the U.S. trustee, which is part of the office of the department of justice. You can consult an attorney as to whether you should file an adversary proceeding to determine dischargeability of the debt.

First, if you divorce papers state that any of the debts where you are a co-debtor were to be her debts alone, paid by her and you were to be held harmless from having to pay any of them, then you can file an Adversary Proceeding as any debts she was to pay under a divorce decree which you would now be stuck with due to her filing bankruptcy can be kept form being discharged and if you have to pay them, you can go after her for reimbursement. Second, if you believe she has not listed assets she has, or has hidden assets or transferred assets within the past four years and therefore not listed them in her bankruptcy papers, then you could write a letter to her bankruptcy trustee stating what those assets are and that they were not listed ,or were hidden, or were transferred, which would a reason for the trustee to request a denial of discharge. Or you could file yourself, or add with the Adversary Proceeding for divorce debts, a cause of action to deny discharge based on fraud for not listing assets she has or assets hidden or transferred and not listed in her bankruptcy papers.

Your ex spouse can correct any errors in her bankruptcy papers at any time during her case. If you have documentation and evidence that she is hiding assets, then you can provide that documentation to the trustee assigned to administer her estate. Otherwise, there is not much you can do and her liability on those debts in which you are a co-debtor will be discharged. This will leave you liable for that debt.

Your rights as a co-debtor with an ex-spouse depend mostly on the divorce decree. If she was required to pay the debts by your decree, they will likely be non-dischargeable.