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Discharge of Family Law Obligations in Bankruptcy

By Stuart Gold
August 25, 2008

In April 2005, Congress passed, and President Bush signed, the most recent set of amendments to the Bankruptcy Code, The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (“BAPCPA”). Most of the provisions of this amendatory act applied to bankruptcy cases filed after Oct. 17, 2005. BAPCPA made significant changes in the treatment of alimony, child support and other obligations arising out of the dissolution of the marital relationship. This article refers to these obligations collectively as “family law obligations.” Although many articles appeared in 2005 regarding the changes made by BAPCPA, it is worth revisiting these changes as they apply to the family law practitioner because the current economic downturn will lead to many more consumer bankruptcy filings in the remainder of 2008 and in 2009.

Discharge and the Fresh Start

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