What is my liability if I sign on as a guarantor on a personal bankruptcy? 13 Answers as of October 28, 2011

There is no such thing as a guarantor on a personal bankruptcy, not sure what you are being asked. If she is asking you to personally guaranty a debt on an asset which she is trying to keep in a bankruptcy such as a home or a car then your liability would be for the amount of the debt. I would not do this because if she stops paying you will be required to do so and the creditor could come after you for the debt. If the case is a Chapter 13 you can file a declaration in support of the plan if you are going to help the debtor pay her trustee payment.

There is no such thing as a guarantor on a personal bankruptcy, not sure what you are being told. If she is asking you to personally guaranty a debt on an asset which she is trying to keep in a bankruptcy such as a home or a car then your liability would be for the amount of the debt. I would not advise doing this since if she stops paying you will be required to do so and the creditor could come after you for the debt.

By signing you are making yourself responsible to pay her attorney fees should she fail to do so. It shouldn't be reported on your credit report, unless she fails to pay and you also fail to pay, then they can sue you for the money and that would eventually make it on your credit report. You probably love your sister, but the fact is she has a history of financial issues, thus she is now filing bankruptcy. Are you willing and able to pay her attorney fees if she doesn't? If not, then don't sign.

What she is doing is either illegal or a very bad idea. Tell her no, unless you feel like paying her debts.

There is no procedure to sign as a guarantor for a bankruptcy filing. If the case is a chapter 13 you can file a declaration in support of the plan if you are going to help the debtor pay her trustee payment.

Generally, if you gaurentee a loan for anybody and they file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you are responsible for the unpaid balance of the loan. If you don't pay the balance, it can be reported as a delinquent item on your credit report. Wish I could tell you something more postive but I can't.

A guarantor of what? There is no guarantor in a bankruptcy unless she is not paying her attorneys fees in full before filing. Since she would be discharged of her debts, including bankruptcy attorneys fees not paid before filing, if you guaranty them and she doesn't pay, they can look to you to pay any amount she doesn't, including suing you for the money.

There is no reason for anyone to be a guarantor in a bankruptcy. If you guarantee some borrowing by your sister you become equally liable to her, and the liability is likely to show on your credit report.

There is no such thing as a guarantor in bankruptcy so this must be a misunderstanding by you or your sister. Hopefully she has a lawyer that will represent her and not attempt to file by herself.

Perhaps she asked you to contribute funds to her plan payment? I have never heard of someone being a guarantor on someone's bankruptcy. If she did ask you to sign a contribution declaration, you are telling the court that you intend to help her. However, if you are unable to help her in the future, you wont be liable for your inability to do so. Regardless, you should have an attorney review any kind of paperwork you are signing.