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Secured debts and liens
In rem relief
A court order that lifts the automatic stay for a specific piece of real estate and can keep applying to that property in later bankruptcy cases. 1
Talk to a lawyerHow it works
A creditor can ask the court for permission to act against a debtor's property even though the automatic stay would otherwise prohibit it. The court decides after notice and a hearing. 2
In rem relief goes further than an ordinary order. A creditor whose claim is secured by real estate can get it if the court finds the bankruptcy filing was part of a scheme to delay, hinder or defraud creditors. The scheme must have involved either a transfer of an interest in the property without the secured creditor's consent or court approval, or multiple bankruptcy filings affecting the property. 1
If the order is recorded as state law requires, it is binding in any later bankruptcy case affecting that property that is filed within 2 years after the order. During that time a new filing does not stop the creditor from enforcing its lien on the property. 1
A debtor in a later case may still ask the court for relief from the order, based on changed circumstances or good cause. 1
Common questions
Does the order cover my other property?
The order is tied to the real property it names. The law describes it as relief from the stay of acts against that real property by the creditor whose claim it secures. 1
Does the order bind a bankruptcy filed by someone else?
It can. Once recorded under state law, the order is binding in any later bankruptcy case affecting that property filed within 2 years, not only in a new case by the same debtor. 1
I have filed before. Will the stay protect my home this time?
It depends on your history. Apart from in rem orders, repeat filings weaken the stay: if one case was dismissed in the past year, the stay in the new case generally ends after 30 days unless the court extends it, and after two or more dismissals in the past year it generally does not start at all. Talk to a lawyer before filing again. 1
Sources
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