Divorce while in Ch 13

[lostinmich]

I'm asking this for a friend.. His wife is currently in a ch 13 repayment plan. She also filed for divorce and the divorce will be final in two weeks. The divorce was filed BEFORE the ch 13 was filed. My question is, is my friend going to be stuck with a bunch of debt since he did NOT file BK, only his wife did? Also, can they agree to have her take the debt or at least her debt even if he is listed on the loan documents? For instance, they are both listed on a loan for stuff done to the house that she is going to be keeping. He doesn't want to be stuck with paying for something that he no longer owes.

[lrprn]

I'm asking this for a friend.. His wife is currently in a ch 13 repayment plan. She also filed for divorce and the divorce will be final in two weeks. The divorce was filed BEFORE the ch 13 was filed. My question is, is my friend going to be stuck with a bunch of debt since he did NOT file BK, only his wife did? Also, can they agree to have her take the debt or at least her debt even if he is listed on the loan documents? For instance, they are both listed on a loan for stuff done to the house that she is going to be keeping. He doesn't want to be stuck with paying for something that he no longer owes.

If your friend was a co-signer on any of the debts that his soon-to-be-ex-wife has included in her bankruptcy, any debts that they owned jointly, or if they live in a community property state, then he needs to make absolutely certain the divorce decree is very specific on who is responsible for every bit of debt between them, including those in her bankruptcy. This is a situation where your friend needs a very good divorce lawyer who understands Ch 13 bankruptcy as well, and those lawyers are hard to find.

It will help your friend to understand his position with his wife's bankruptcy better (and protect himself better) if he makes free consultation appointments with 2-3 bankruptcy specialty lawyers in his area and explains the situation. He may end up having to pay for an hour or two of lawyer time, but it could save him a world of hurt later down the road when fixing things could be much harder (or impossible).