Can bankruptcy wipe out child support or alimony?

What counts as support?

Bankruptcy law calls these debts domestic support obligations. The term covers a debt in the nature of alimony, maintenance or support that is owed to a spouse, a former spouse, your child, or the child's parent, guardian or responsible relative. It also covers support owed to a government agency.7

The debt has to come from a separation agreement, a divorce decree, a property settlement agreement, a court order or a government determination. It includes amounts that came due before you filed, amounts that come due afterward, and interest.7

What the paperwork calls the payment does not settle the question. A debt counts if it is in the nature of support, whether or not the divorce papers label it that way.7

What happens to support debts in Chapter 7?

They are not discharged. You owe the same amount after the case as before it.1 2 8

Support is first in the order of priority among unsecured claims. If the trustee sells property and has money to distribute, support claims are paid ahead of other unsecured creditors, after the trustee's own allowed expenses.9 8

Exemptions do not shield you from support either. Property you protect with an exemption is generally safe from debts that arose before the case, but it stays liable for support.10

Does filing stop support collection or family court?

Mostly no. The automatic stay stops most collection actions, but the law carves out family matters. These continue after you file:11 3

• Cases to establish paternity, or to set or change a support order.3
• Cases about child custody, visitation or domestic violence.3
• A divorce, except for dividing property that belongs to the bankruptcy estate.3
• Withholding from your income for support under a court order, an agency order or a statute.3
• Collection of support from property that is not part of the bankruptcy estate.3
• Suspension of a driver's, professional or recreational license for unpaid support, and reporting of overdue support to credit reporting agencies.3

So a wage garnishment for an ordinary debt generally stops when you file, while withholding for support does not.11 3

What happens in Chapter 13?

Chapter 13 does not reduce support, but it can spread past-due support over the life of a plan, which usually lasts three to five years. Support is a priority claim, and the plan must provide for paying priority claims in full unless the person owed agrees to something different.4 5

There is one narrow exception. Support that was assigned to a government agency, or is owed directly to one, may be paid less than in full if the plan commits all of your projected disposable income for a 5-year period.4 5

You also have to stay current on new support. The court confirms a plan only if support that came due after filing has been paid. If you fall behind during the case, the court may dismiss it or convert it to Chapter 7. At the end, you must certify that the support due has been paid before the court grants a discharge.6 5

What if a divorce debt is not support?

Divorces create other debts too, such as a promise to pay a former spouse for their share of the house or to cover a joint credit card. A debt to a spouse, former spouse or child that is not support but came out of a divorce or separation is also not discharged in Chapter 7.1

Chapter 13 treats that second kind differently. Debts from property settlements in a divorce or separation are among the debts that can be discharged in Chapter 13 but not in Chapter 7. Because so much turns on whether a payment is really support, this is a question to take to a lawyer with the divorce papers in hand.5

Can you remove a lien for unpaid support?

Not with the usual tool. Bankruptcy lets a debtor remove certain judgment liens that cut into an exemption, but that rule expressly leaves out a judicial lien that secures a support debt.10