There is no question that alimony and child support obligations awarded by a New Jersey judge in a divorce case are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. However, what happens when the spouse ordered to pay the support obligation is also ordered to pay the attorney's fees incurred by his or her spouse in obtaining that award? Unfortunately, the answer is, "It depends."
Unfortunately the bankruptcy code does not specifically say one way or the other; it has been left to the courts to make that determination. It does not even help that the order to pay attorney's fees does not specifically state whether the award was for the purposes of support.
The law says that the fees can be a support obligation "without regard to whether such debt is expressly so designated." This is not to say that bankruptcy judges will second-guess the state court judge; they generally rely on his or her findings.
If you live in southern New Jersey and are considering filing bankruptcy, please feel free to call me at 856-432-4113 or contact me through this site for a free consultation in my Woodbury office to discuss your case.
If you are looking for more information on how bankruptcy might help you with your divorce, then you should download my free book, Top Questions Divorcing Couples Ask About NJ Bankruptcy.
Related Topics
If you liked this information and found it useful, then you might like or need these others:
